Corn Mazes and Cowards
by I.Dream.Of.Hardyz
Summary: Ally gets a job at a local haunted house and corn maze, thanks to the pestering of Trish. There, she meets Austin Moon, who at first seems withdrawn. As the days go on, she finds herself in a spiderweb of a story, with more twists then she could have ever imagined. There is something more sinister than what meets the eye going on... and it leaves everyone she loves in danger. AU.
1. Chapter 1

**It's back! I told you it would be. If anyone is clicking on this story for the first time, this is officially a revamp, rewrite of my story posted with the same name. I wanted to change a few things around, give the story a little more power. I have mapped out the entire thing, and am only a few chapters away from finishing it. That said, the story will be eleven chapters, most of them longer in length. It is a horror and romance story, and I've worked pretty hard on it. My goal is to post the last chapter on Halloween, so that means you'll be seeing updates about every week or so. So... who is excited for some Austin and Ally scaring to happen? I know I am.**

 **Let me know what you think. Enjoy!**

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"I don't even like to sleep with the lights off!" Ally Dawson exclaimed as she followed her best friend Trish De La Rosa through the parking lot of their school, her eyes wide and her heart hammering. Why was that? Trish had just signed the two girls up to volunteer at a haunted house for the next two months. Forget weekends of reading and working on her music in the store. No, she had to work at some freak show where people thought it was fun to be scared. And if you haven't caught it just yet… Ally Dawson doesn't like to be scared.

"Oh, live a little, Ally." Trish laughed effortlessly as she opened her car door, giving her friend a look. "It's all just a show. You're going to be the one working, so it's not like you have to go through the event either! You'll be dressed up, scaring others! It'll be awesome."

"They'll fire me the first day! I can't even say the word boo without shivering!" As if on cue, she did. "See?!"

"They can't fire you. You volunteered!"

"I quit then!"

Trish giggled, "That's my job!"

Two days later and no luck in convincing Trish that this was a bad idea, they took the drive into the country to where the haunted house took place. It was in the middle of nowhere, where there was just gravel roads and too many woods for it to just be 'fake'. It sent chills down her spine as Trish practically giggled her way there, while Ally tried to calm her beating heart.

"This is dumb," she said. And she hated the word dumb. Not many things were. But this was. "I can't do this. I don't want to do this! Are you sure it's even fake? Look at these woods, Trish! We're going to get murdered! Imagine the shock and horror on my family's face when the police deliver the news! They'll never forgive you!"

"For someone who is so afraid of this, you sure are a great storyteller," Trish commented, raising her eyebrows. "And relax. This place has been going for over a decade. And no murders yet. At least, not for the workers. Can't say no one has died of fright."

"Trish!"

They arrived a few minutes later to a group of people standing around. A large group of people. Some were young, like them probably still in high school and others were older, maybe in college. And then there were adults, too. They all seemed to be waiting as they parked and joined them. Groups chattered around her. Some of them seemed to know each other and Ally couldn't help but think she was not going to fit in here. She still couldn't figure out why her friend couldn't ask someone like Cassidy, who was much more put together than her to do this. Forget her. She was going to die the first day.

"Thank you all for being on time!" A voice boomed. A middle aged man parted the crowd, carrying a skull in one hand and something equally as creepy in the other. Ally squirmed and hid behind Trish. "I'm so pleased by the turnout this year to help put this show on. We do have several paid actors each year, but we also are run by volunteers. So, for that I thank you. We're one of Miami's biggest haunts and with opening weekend only two weeks away, we have a lot of work to do!"

"Now please," another man stated, coming up beside the first man. "Listen closely. That was Jim, my fellow owner of Scared and Screaming! We are going to first check you all in, and then we're going to set you up with a team of people who will decide what capacity you will be working. Returning volunteers get preference over first timers, but we try to work to the best of your abilities too. For example, you might want to play Michael Myers, but you might only be five foot tall. That won't work. For the next few minutes, it'll be chaos. But that's how it is here. It always works out in the end. Now, roll call!"

Ally shivered as names started to be called out. Trish bounced up and down on her heels, grinning at her best friend who only glared back. Their names were called and they were escorted over to a young woman who was probably in college. She smiled warmly at all of them and Ally was captivated by her simple beauty and mesmerized by her colorful locks. She looked around and then stated, "Let's double check this. We have Trish De La Rosa, Ally Dawson, Dez Wade, and Austin Moon, right?"

Ally glanced to the side where two boys were standing, with expressions similar to Trish. She noticed the redhead first, tall and lanky who looked ready to burst. Dressed as if he was already in costume, he grinned at her like they were already friends. She raised her eyebrows and shifted her gaze, only to lay her eyes on the most beautiful boy she'd ever seen. Tall and blond but much more filled out than his counterpart, the other boy looked at her with timid eyes. He smiled, but much more apprehensively.

"Ally?"

"Oh? Yes!"

The girl smiled. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you."

"You'll be doing a lot of that," Trish snickered quietly.

Ally rolled her eyes. "Hi. Sorry."

"I'm Luna. I'll be working with each of you for the next week. What are your strengths? What do you like to do?"

"Uh?" Ally had no idea. She knew her strengths outside of this place, but she didn't think she had any strengths when it came to a haunted house. "I'm not sure. Trish sort of dragged me here. I don't even think I could make it through the house, let alone work it." She smiled sadly. "I'm sorry. I don't know."

"That's okay," Luna assured them. "We'll work on it. First, let me show you some video of last year." The girls and boys followed after her, into a building where they had several TVs set up. Over the next few minutes, Luna explained that she had been working for the house since she was their age. She was now twenty three and was on her seventh year. They usually kept her in the actual house where she'd work as some sort of evil and deranged character, often made up to look bloody and gory while she screamed in people's faces. And she was great at it. Ally wanted to hide behind Trish the moment the TV came to life. They watched it for several minutes and then she took back the lead. "Now, that is one of the more advanced acts. You guys are new at this and until we can find your strengths and work on them, you'll probably be stuck on jump scares."

The boys looked disappointed.

"Don't look so sad, Dez and Austin. We do get some shining stars from time to time. Let's take a walk through of the house and I'll show you what we have to work with." Ally barely made it through. Even without the actors inside, the place was terrifying. There was cuts and turns, creepy mannequins and dolls. Blood covered some of the walls. And then there was the clown room. That alone made her want to run.

"Okay, I'm going to go speak with my boss, why don't you guys go grab some cider and I'll meet up with you in a few minutes?"

The beautiful girl disappeared and Ally was left with the three others in her group. Trish and Dez were arguing about something, leaving her to glance at the silent boy beside her. She smiled tentatively and walked a bit closer. "I'm Ally. You look a bit nervous. Are you scared?"

"Scared?" he scoffed. "No, not exactly. I want to do this." He muttered something under his breath, but she didn't quite catch it. His actions said otherwise.

Ally didn't push his comment further, but she didn't understand. "Well, I'm a bit nervous. I'm scared just walking through the house."

He didn't seem to want to chat, but added, "Maybe this'll make you face your fears."

"I don't know. I hope so."

The rest of the group chatted for a few minutes, but Ally couldn't stop the butterflies in her stomach from each time Austin looked her way. She couldn't help that he looked haunted himself. He didn't look scared when she caught a better look at him. But there was definitely something else, something that caught his interest. Not in a positive way.

"What do you want to do?" Dez asked her and she blinked in surprise.

"Maybe work the concession stand." She smiled honestly and was surprised when both the boys laughed.

"You'll be fine," Dez assured her. "I've been wanting to do this for years!"

The group returned to Luna a few minutes later, who explained that they would be meeting with the costume director in a little bit and would start to work on their characters. The week ahead would be set for doing that, and setting up the actual scenes. The second would be for making sure everything was perfect. "I want you all aware that we have plenty of openings. We have a haunted house and a corn maze. You won't get stuck with something lame. Until next time though, have fun with the costumes!"

"Do you guys want to grab a bite to eat before we leave?"

Trish looked up to see the boys standing over them with creepy masks on. They screamed as the boys laughed, and finally Trish shoved Dez a little. "Only if you take those things off!"

Dez grinned. "I'll be working as a clown!"

"No surprise there," Austin grinned back—the first time he seemed at ease all night, shoving his best friend.

Ally smiled, taking advantage of this. She was wondering why he seemed so closed off compared to his loud-mouthed best friend. "What about you?"

Austin seemed surprised by her question, "Me?"

"Yeah."

"Oh, I'm going to be working in the maze," he stated.

"What as?"

He seemed to shy away at the question, "What about you, Trish?"

"Jim wants to set me up with Luna. She thinks we'd work well together."

"Really? That's a great compliment!"

"Is it? Why?"

Austin again backed away from the question. "I mean, I would think so. She's a veteran here."

"Oh, right. Ally, what about you?"

She shrugged, "I don't know. Luna really wants me to work in the event to overcome my fears, but I don't know if I can do it. She thinks because I like books and learning that I could work as a crazy librarian or something, but I'm still not sure. We're going to try it."

"You can do it," he assured her, giving her another timid smile. Ally smiled back at him, glad for any moment that wasn't awkward between them. "You'll do great."

"Thanks."

The next afternoon, Ally arrived a little early, wanting to talk to Luna about her character and how she was supposed to know how to channel scaring, and not being scared. To her surprise, it seemed the group of people she worked with did not believe in early. She wandered around, only finding stragglers that were unfamiliar. Until, at least, in typical Ally-fashion, she ran head first into someone else.

Austin (I'm really quiet and weird, but damn good looking) Moon.

She'd come up with that name overnight.

"Hey, sorry," he murmured, already looking beyond her to the maze.

"It's okay." She was determined all the sudden to get past this. "It's not a big deal. I didn't know you got here early."

"Always do," he said quickly, eyes above her.

"Are you okay?" she asked, her voice sharp.

He looked down at her; taken back by her tone. "What?"

"You are the only person here who seemed preoccupied almost constantly. I was just asking because my mom always told me it was good to be tuned into people's emotions and that picking up on things that are subconsciously being done because…" she trailed off, feeling her face heat up. He was staring at her like she was already in costume. "Never mind. I was just wondering if maybe… you were… I'm going to shut up."

She had a tendency to ramble, and she didn't mean to go on like that.

He smiled to her surprise and Ally tried not to grin stupidly back. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," she answered. "So, you're okay?"

"I'm fine," he assured her. "Believe me, I'm fine. I just have a lot on my mind." He reached over to touch her shoulder and it was then she noticed he was holding paperwork in his hand. It stated something about ropes; looked like a disclaimer of sorts. "Thanks a lot, Ally."

And with that, he was gone.

But something changed in the coming hours. He no longer was as distracted around her. In fact, he was a lot more friendly. This made it all the more worse for her, considering he was absolutely gorgeous and now nice. A combination she wasn't ready for. All her life, it was one or the other, usually. Both? Deadly, if she were to be in the spirit of her job.

The group ended up getting together a couple times in the next few days and Ally was a bit convinced that Trish had a thing for Dez, even though she swore he was 'weird and dumb'. Every time they met up, she would catch her stealing glances at him. And she was falling head over heels for the handsome Austin, who despite not speaking much still, had become her little cheerleader when he did. He believed in her and when they insisted on making her the creepy librarian, he asked if she wanted any extra help with her costume and working on the scares.

"Thanks," she smiled. "I think I could."

And so, over the next two nights, they worked on her. She got better with the jumps (now she jumped out and scared people, not the other way around… after almost punching Luna once the first time, it had to be worked on) and even better with her character. She loved her old fashioned looking costume and the large, cracked glasses she got to wear. Her hair was completely disheveled and filthy looking. All in all, she looked scary! She couldn't believe it.

Austin was showing her how to wait for the perfect moment to jump out, explaining to go off of sound cues and the noises that people made. When his mind was on scaring, it was like he was a completely different person. Open, loud, actually funny. She never expected the change.

He turned the lights off in the house, and made plenty of noise coming up to her. Together, they made her the perfect character. "Thank you so much for all your help the last few days," she told him. "I couldn't have done it without you. Even Luna couldn't get me to do it right. But I feel bad! You only have a day or so for your character now before the walk through!"

"Oh, it's okay. I don't need it."

She offered a disbelieving expression, "Are you sure? I mean, it's not that I don't think you'll be good at it, but everyone needs practice." Was he really going to go into the haunted maze thinking he was perfect? That seemed a bit extreme.

"Believe me, I've had plenty of practice," he stated quietly. "Promise."

Ally shrugged, promising him he'd meet up with him in a bit and went to find Trish. What she ran into first though, made her even more confused. Luna and Jim were standing near the entrance of the corn maze, talked heatedly. "I don't want him doing it!" Jim stated angrily, pointing a finger at her. "You should have known better, Luna! It almost shut us down last time! We can't take the risk of that happening again, and let alone with his damn _brother_!"

"He wants to do it!" Luna yelled back, pushing away his arm. "He can do it! We fixed the malfunction and have run plenty of test runs. Nothing will happen this time. We're sure of it."

"I know he was your friend and I know you're protective of his brother," Jim said, his voice more level now, but somehow even more serious, "But this is not a game, Luna. He died. I know you know that. You went to his funeral. He died on this maze."

"Yes, he died doing what he loved," she seethed. "And he wants to honor that. So, let him."

"And what if something happens again? Do you think the press will not be all over that? We kept it out of the news for the most part last time, but it doesn't mean it will be this time! And his family. Do they even know he's working here? I'm sure they'd freak if they did!" Jim threw his hands up. "I can't believe you went behind my back and did this! I won't tell you no, but it's all on you if it happens."

Luna sighed, putting her hands on her hips. "Mitch was my best friend, Jim. I've watched Austin grow up. I won't let anything happen to him. I promise you that."

"You'd better be right," Jim snapped and then stormed off.

Ally finally cleared her throat, letting herself be known. She had no idea what she had just witnessed, but knew it had to do with something about Austin and what sounded like his brother. "Is everything okay?" she asked when Luna leaned against the maze fence. She looked worse for wear.

Luna managed a smile. "Fine, Ally. Totally fine. How's it going?"

"Great. Austin just helped me finalize the scene. I think I'm ready."

She smiled widely, clapping her hands and coming back to life. Ally was too curious to what had just happened, but knew better than asking anything about it. She would mention it to Trish at some point that night and would love to ask Austin. He didn't seem to know Luna, at least not from what she could tell. What was that boy hiding? "That's great. You two work well together. Maybe if you come back next year, you could do a skit! I think the fans would love it."

Ally shrugged. She did love what she was doing now, but she wasn't sure if it would last. What if the moment the fans came in, she broke? Her hard work would be completely down the drain. "I'm so proud of you," Luna stated. "You've come so far."

She supposed she was right, as everyone else said that to her over the next week as they did run throughs of the haunted house on other staff and tried their best to make sure everything was perfect. She didn't know what went on in the corn maze, as they usually ran the run throughs at the same time as she did her own. She wished to see what Austin's character was and what he did. She had a feeling he was great at it, like she thought. She knew that Trish and Dez were fantastic. Trish especially. Luna made her come even more alive when they bounced off each other, and Dez was right at home in a clown costume, much like Austin had stated the first night.

They were ready.

The opening night was insane. Ally peeked out in her costume at the line that had formed down the dirt road in shock. It seemed to go on for miles and she couldn't believe it! They still had an hour until doors! The group was hanging out before hand though, talking and boasting about their characters. Austin, on the other hand, was very quiet much like he had been the first night they met, and often disappeared. She'd had enough. She'd spent the last two weeks getting so close to him and had even shared a few almost kiss moments. She wanted to know why he was the way he was and she looked for Luna for the answers.

"Luna!" she yelled, finding the girl flirting with one of the other actors that were her age—she believed his name was Ben? The girl turned around, waving goodbye to the guy and smiled at her.

"Hey! Are you ready? You look awesome!"

"You too! I am, but I wanted to ask you a question first, if that's okay."

"Of course," the girl assured her.

"What happened here? Why did you get into that fight with Jim the other day? And what does it have to do with Austin? He's acting weird and it worries me."

Luna for the first time since she met her, seemed taken back. She looked as if she wanted to tell the story, but then shook her head. Her smile turned apologetic, "I'm sorry, Ally. I can't tell you that. You'll have to ask him. I wouldn't do it right now though. I know he's nervous. He's got a big role. Remember how I told you there are stars that sometimes shine through right away? He's one of those. I will tell you this, hopefully it'll make you understand: this runs in his family. He loves it."

Ally _didn't_ understand. She was more confused. But she went about her business, knowing she had to get into character and take her place in the house so that she could begin her scares. An hour passed quickly and soon she could hear people giggling and screaming outside, some of the actors out there who were used to get them riled up. She waited, a bit patiently yet somehow still scared and glanced down the hallway where she could see one of her fellow actors standing in spot. Then there was a pounding on the wall, which signaled that someone was coming in. Ally got into place.

She could hear teenagers giggling, and began to open and close books. She mumbled to herself, mostly her favorite quotes and then louder, scary things that the others could hear. She turned around last second, got into the face of a girl that would have been once her and screamed, "NO TALKING IN MY LIBRARY!"

She followed after them, pointing to a bloodied body on the floor. "THAT'S WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU TALK IN MY LIBRARY! COME ON, COME CLOSER."

The girls went out screaming into the next room and Ally had to bite back a laugh. She'd done it! She actually had done it.

For the next couple of hours, she did just that. She loved every second of it and she couldn't wait for the next night. They ran weekends, so she'd be doing it every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday night. The newbies got to have one night off where they could experience the house for themselves. They were divided evenly, so that there wouldn't be that many people missing from their stations. They also had back ups for themselves. Her night just so happened to be the second night, which made her happy. Everyone was in their characters at that point.

She thought about that as she closed out the first night and then went searching for her friends. All of them, including Austin, had smiles on their face. He was looking at her though, somehow already out of costume.

It all felt like some huge secret.

"How'd you do?" he asked.

"Great! I scared so many people!"

"Great job, Ally." He came forward and wrapped her into a huge hug, and Ally glanced at Trish, who gave her a thumbs up. She didn't miss her hand in Dez's. Some people moved fast, she supposed.

"Thanks. I can't wait to see you tomorrow night. It's my night off."

"Is it?" he didn't seem all that worried like she had expected. "Great. I hope I can scare you!"

"You can try," she teased. "I've become a scarer! You can't scare me."

They laughed and walked to their cars together.

Ally and Trish had the night off together, luckily and they headed there pretty early into the night. She was thrilled to experience the show and not be part of it, and waited patiently on line with her best friend as others chatted around them. The fans had no idea what was in store and she knew they were in for a treat.

She took her free ticket from Jim, who told her to enjoy and practically ran toward the line for the haunted house. She wanted to save the corn maze for last, since she knew Austin was in there. Trish kept babbling about how she hoped that Dez would still scare her inside and wouldn't do something sweet instead. Ally barely listened, her blood pumping and her excitement rising.

Finally, they were let in.

First, it was a room of what looked like zombies, and then a room of guts and gore. They got to what looked like a room out of Nightmare on Elm Street next, and she knew her room was after that. She walked bravely in, screaming out of pure fear when she forgot where the hiding spot was! The other librarian, who worked her breaks and her days off bounced out, screaming at her for screaming and she couldn't help but smile back. She was terrified, but she loved it. She kept on, going to where Luna was, against a broken TV screen, whispering to it only to turn around in full costume, blood covering her mouth and broken shards of glass around her body. She got into their face, probably extra hard since she knew it was them, sending them screaming into the next room.

By the time they were finished (Dez upped the scare, thankfully), they were out of breath from being chased with chainsaws, and absolutely terrified.

"Corn maze!" Ally yelled excitedly. "Austin! Corn maze."

Trish laughed as she tried to catch up to her, "Who would have thought you'd be excited for this?"

"I am!" And Austin, that is.

They raced to the line, which was a bit shorter and waited to be let in. They were pushed first into a cloud of smoke, only to reveal stomped down corn stalks and a dark path before them. No lights. Ally shivered, her fear coming back, then pressed forward. At some point, she'd be seeing Austin. Even if he was in costume, she was excited. They walked past ghouls and clowns, past Jason from Friday the Thirteenth and some sort of werewolf.

Finally, she saw him. He was part of a detailed set where he dangled from a tree, his body torn and bloodied, holding onto a rope that was close to hanging him. He screamed and pleaded with them to help him, but at one point, she saw him wink. Her cheeks burned in the night as if he could see her blushing. The set, where another guy with a chainsaw came at them, was awesome. He chased them into a circle where half of the exits were blocked. They had to race around, past the man chasing them and listen to Austin's screams of terror when they finally made it through and the man went back to kill him. They got chased by another clown and then finally were out. "Oh my God! That was insane! How was he hanging there and not actually getting hurt?"

"Magic," Trish laughed. "Well, acting magic. That was awesome. How did he get such a great part?"

Ally remembered what she heard Jim and Luna talking about and explained it to her best friend. "Do you think his brother used to do that set?"

"I don't know. That's the only thing I can think of."

"Dez and I are going out tonight, you should ask Austin out and ask him."

"I don't know if I can," she admitted. "What if it's a really bad story?"

"You two are getting so close," she reminded her.

"Not really. He acts different when we're not working."

"Bull," she laughed. "He's been telling Dez how much he likes you."

"What?!"

Trish just smiled, "He has to tell you eventually."

Much to her surprise, he sought her out. "Do you want to grab something to eat after we're all closed up?"

Ally nodded, trying to steady her breathing and not look over-eager. "Sure. Of course. You were awesome tonight, by the way."

He smiled. "Thanks."

So, they closed up and went to the nearest restaurant, still in their costumes. They got weird looks, but no one said a word. Ally was silent at first, but then Austin spoke up. He was the one to bring up what she couldn't stop thinking about, much to her surprise. He was looking at her directly in the eyes when he stated, "I wanted to apologize for how weird I've acted sometimes. I know it's freaked you out. I know you like me, and I really like you too, but this haunt means the world to me and sometimes I forget that I'm with other people who love it too. They just think I'm weird; they don't know."

"I think I might," she whispered.

"No, you don't."

Ally was taken back by how mean he sounded when he said that, but she nodded, "I have an idea. I heard Luna and Jim talking the other day. They were arguing about you doing your scene. Jim said he didn't want to do a repeat of a few years back, but Luna defended you. I didn't even know you knew Luna previously before then."

"I didn't want anyone to know," he admitted. "It's a long story, and I'm not sure I'm ready to tell it yet."

"I can respect that. Just know you don't have to worry. I don't think you're _that_ weird."

He snorted, smiling at her. "Thanks, I think."

They were back on Sunday and prepared as they usually did. The other librarian was on the house that day, so she was put into the corn field to play a jump scarer. She had a lot of fun doing it, and she was also near Austin so she could hear him at times, too. She was still curious about what happened in this haunt, but also wanted to respect her friend's privacy. He'd tell her when he was ready. They took intermission around ten and she went looking for him.

"You know what I totally forgot about?" she asked, as she handed him an apple cider, hot and absolutely delicious. They both carefully tried to drink it without ruining their make up.

"What's that?"

If it was one thing he'd taught her in the last couple of weeks, it was to be brave. And she kept repeating last night over and over again in her head, thinking about what he said. Tonight, covered in blood and being the most open he'd been with her in weeks, she figured she'd go for something she otherwise would never have.

"You said you liked me the other night," she stated boldly. "Was that true, or were you just telling me a scary story?"

Austin laughed warmly, leading forward to hug her. "There is nothing false about that at all."

She shivered in the cool night air in spite of the warm drink. He looked into her eyes, and despite all the blood and gory make up, she saw the absolutely gorgeous and sweet boy she met almost a month before. Before she had a chance to say anything further, he leaned forward and pressed a kiss on her lips and sent different shivers down her spine. The _good_ kind.

He backed away after it was all done, giving her a smile, but something else caught her eye. She couldn't be quite sure, since it was dark and she was tired, but she saw a boy leaning against the tree behind them, who looked just like Austin, with a huge smile on his face. Ally's eyes widened, and she broke the kiss, looking beyond him, but he was already gone.

"What's the matter?" Austin's alarm immediately brought her back to reality and she shook her head, looking back to where she thought she'd see the boy. Ally smiled slightly, not too sure why she wasn't freaking out and just giggled. "Ally, you're scaring me."

"Isn't that what I'm supposed to do?" she teased, then nodded. "Sorry. I just zoned out."

"Guess my kiss was just that good, huh?"

"I would have never thought you so arrogant," she laughed.

They walked back toward the tree and Ally glanced around one more time. Did she believe in ghosts? She wasn't really sure. But there was no mistaking that he was standing right where she was right now, looking directly at her. Austin told her he'd be right back, he had to talk to Joe about their stunt, and she was left alone. Her nerves flared momentarily, then she relaxed. From eavesdropping on Luna and her boss, she knew that he'd lost his brother here. How, she still wasn't sure. If it were his brother, he was harmless, she was sure of that too.

"He's doing you proud," she whispered, her voice shaking just a bit. "But I'm sure you know that."


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you for the reviews and I am so glad to see familiar faces - and new ones too. Here is the next chapter - if you look close you may notice it's got a few different things in it. Anyway, I'm super excited to write more of this.**

 **Let me know what you think. Enjoy!**

* * *

The week after went extremely slow. Austin and Dez were both eighteen and out of school, so Ally didn't get to see them all week long. She thought about her kiss with the attractive boy and how wonderful it made her feel. If she thought back hard enough, she could still feel his lips on hers and the smell of his hair when it tickled her nose. He smelled earthy.

"Daydreaming about your boyfriend?" Trish teased from over her desk.

Ally shot her a look, "Are you daydreaming about yours?"

The girl smirked, "Oh yeah. Who would have thought?"

"Not me," she agreed. "I didn't even think I would make it through opening night."

"And now we have a four day weekend of scares coming up because of Columbus Day."

"I'm excited." Ally knew she would probably be back in the house for the majority of it, but she knew at least one of those nights her stand in would have her chance to be the scarer. And that meant she was in the corn maze. This meant she could go searching for anyone who could have hidden behind trees. Maybe even a ghost.

"Do you believe in ghosts?" Her sudden question caught Trish off guard.

"I don't know. I've never seen one, but I've never seen California, either. Does that mean an entire state doesn't exist?"

Her friend had a good point.

"Why? You think you saw a ghost?"

"No," she said, too quickly and causing her friend to give her another look. "No. Oh my God. If I saw a ghost, I'd be on the floor, Trish!" She had a good cover, at least. "I'm just asking. You have to wonder if events like these cause others to come about."

"Let's hope not. I wouldn't know who was who when we're all covered in fake blood and guts."

Only he wasn't covered in blood and guts, she thought. He looked just like everyone else.

She couldn't shake seeing him; it stayed on her mind all day long, especially when she arrived later that day at the haunt, and ran into the boy she'd been thinking about all day long. He was with a few of the other actors, including Joe, who was his set-buddy, and the same guy that Luna had been flirting with a couple days back. He smiled at her, all brooding and sad eyes gone, coming forward to squeeze her side.

"Hey, I missed you."

That made her feel really good, but she couldn't stop thinking about that night. He sensed she was a little out of it.

"Are you okay?"

She nodded, "Just have a lot on my mind."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"You're sweet," she told him, kissing his cheek. "But no, that's okay."

"Listen," he said, pulling her away from the other actors, his eyes serious. She noticed immediately a change in posture and all around body language. "I need to talk to you. I … I uh, have been thinking during the last week, about what I said to you that night at dinner. You've been really good to me, and I know you're curious about what happened here. I was wondering if you wanted to take a walk, and I'll tell you."

Allly nodded, probably a little too enthusiastically. Maybe she'd get the answers to the questions she'd been wondering for days. Maybe he even knew his brother was around still. It had to be his brother, didn't it? Who else could she have seen?

"I'll tell you the story, but you have to promise you don't think I'm insane. My parents don't know I'm here. They think I'm with friends. I'd be in so much trouble if they knew. I'm banned from haunted houses in their eyes forever."

Her eyes softened, "I promise."

"Thanks."

When he didn't say anything, she prompted, "What happened?"

Austin smiled, "My brother and I always loved scary stuff growing up. Horror movies, haunted houses… Halloween was our favorite time of year. We lived for it. The best costumes and all we could get from it we did. A few years ago, Mitch discovered our little haunt here. He was all for it. He was only a couple years older than me, eighteen when worked for the haunt. Luna was twenty then, it happened three years ago. Jim wanted a really scary scene in the maze. The house was doing great, but the maze was new, and they wanted to sell tickets. A few of the guys came up with the Texas Chainsaw theme, and my brother was all for it. He'd been volunteering since he was sixteen and was a natural, so Luna got him it.

Now, I know it looks real, but it's actually really safe. There is no chance at actually being hung. Back then, it wasn't as good. They thought it was, but it wasn't. They had a great opening night. Luna was the second victim of the group, she came at the fans and screamed that he was coming. She was bloody, she scared everyone. Then, you came to Mitch. He hung from the tree, screaming for mercy and much like you saw me do. Chainsaw man, or as we know him right now as Joe, was to 'kill' him, but…" he paused and his voice wavered. "There was a malfunction."

Ally gasped in horror.

"The fans had no idea. They thought it was part of the act, and so did Luna. Mitch was crazy. He was more into it than me, he'd do anything for a scare. She thought he'd figured out a way to not actually choke himself, but hang naturally so that it looked more real. It wasn't like that. The thing he was secretly leaning on had fallen over and he suffocated as fans watched. The fans left, and Luna went to set up for the next group until she realized that she didn't hear Mitch getting ready. She turned around and noticed that he was just hanging limply then. By the time they were able to get him down and get the fans out, he was gone. They couldn't revive him. My parents didn't press charges because it wasn't the haunt's fault, but they never wanted me here again. They claim stuff like this is bound to happen and it's only a matter of time until it happens again.

I don't think of it that way. I know Mitch would want someone to continue the scene. I know it's probably mental to do it, since its the same ropes that killed my brother, but it's my tribute to him. It's my reminder that I'm doing what we both loved and that he lives on. You can't see it because we cover it with our bodies in the scene, but the tree has his initials carved into it and we carved his favorite quote from his favorite horror movie in the tree too. There are all kinds of markings from everyone who has ever worked with him. They shut the scene down for several years following his death. No one would do it, and Luna couldn't even look at it. She won't come into the maze. She refuses to, but she knew I wanted to do something to pay homage to him, so she offered it to me this year. I love doing it, I feel close to him when I'm here. I can't explain it, but please don't think I'm crazy."

Ally didn't know what to say. It was a twisted story for sure, something she never expected to hear, but she felt for the boy and his fallen brother. She knew in a way what he meant though, so she couldn't judge. "I don't think you're crazy. And I understand, so don't feel bad."

"Thank you." Austin smiled, clearing his throat. "No one but the actors who were here when it happened know about it. Everyone thinks he died in a car crash leaving the haunt protected from damage, so please don't tell anyone else."

"I won't."

"Thanks."

"Thank you for telling me. I'm sorry that you lost your brother, too."

"It's okay," Austin smiled. "I know he's still here somehow. I feel him sometimes. Do you believe in ghosts?"

Ally froze. How could she answer that question without lying? Maybe she was crazy, and she was just seeing things, right? They were all tired, so she had to let it go.

Right?

Ally sighed, knowing there wasn't much for her to do now, anyway. They had to get into costume and prepare for the night ahead.

The night went smoothly, from what she could tell from inside the house. People who went into the maze first buzzed about it from their scream-included conversations, but that was as close to the maze she got that night. When the haunt was over for the night, Austin was already gone.

She couldn't help but be a little disappointed.

The next day, she woke up with new determination. She had a dream the night before about the maze, and in the dream, she saw the same boy she did the night she saw Austin. A part of her couldn't let it go. She had to make sure she wasn't crazy. So, she made a plan. She got to the haunt almost three hours earlier than needed. They weren't set for make up for another two hours, but she wanted to head into the maze and see what she could find. Austin had already texted her that he would not be doing the stunt that night because it was too windy and Jim had banned him from it. So, he would be a jump scarer being chased by Joe instead. Still, she knew he often headed out here early himself, probably to be close to his brother before all the teenagers and such came through.

It was creepy. You wouldn't think it was in the daylight, but the sets alone put shivers down her spine. And she was also alone, in a corn maze, where she had thought she could've seen a ghost last weekend. Ally might be getting better at the whole _not being terrified of the world_ thing, but it didn't mean that she was okay with this. Her heart pounded in it's chest.

She made her way through the shifting corn, the wind blowing them toward and away from her. Some of the sets, which were activated by noise, alarmed her but she continued until she reached the one she was looking for. Without the lights and the actors, it just looked like a tree with a rope hanging from it.

But then she saw markings that Austin mentioned: his initials. Beyond that, she could see a small flower garden that you'd never notice at night. She climbed over the small fence and headed that way, studying the markings closer.

Her heart hammered in her chest, filling with sadness. "I'm so sorry," she murmured quietly to herself.

"I made that choice."

Ally fell face first into the tree, screaming when someone touched her shoulder.

She finally regained her bearings and glanced around, seeing no one. She wasn't crazy. She _wasn't_. She _heard_ a voice. Ally got up and looked up and down the corn maze, looking for anyone who could have been goofing off in such a horrible way.

"Don't be scared."

She whirled around a few times, finding no one.

A chuckle made her scream again.

"I'm sorry!" the voice said. "I'm new at this. Please don't be scared."

Ally tried to relax, but considering the voice she heard seemed to be coming out of thin air, it was a bit hard.

"You're him, aren't you?" she whispered. "You're Austin's brother."

The voice didn't answer her at first, then quietly said, "Yes."

"Why can't I see you? I saw you the other night!"

"I don't know," the voice answered her. "I've never had anyone see me before."

Ally just stood there. "This isn't real. I must have hit my head or something. I'm dreaming. I'm _unconscious_! Oh my God. They're going to find me laying somewhere in this corn maze and think I did something stupid. Probably assume I fainted from one of the sets! Luna has worked so hard for me not to do that!"

The voice chuckled again, "He's so right."

"Excuse me?" She scolded herself immediately, "Great, I'm answering the voice now."

"I said he's so right. You are quite dramatic. Just as pretty as he said, too."

"Thanks creepy voice guy." She paused. "Wait… he said I was pretty?"

"My name is Mitch."

Her shivers returned. "I know that."

"I can feel your sadness, you know." The corn maze shifted. "I feel emotions well. I think that's what keeps me here. Usually it's the fear. But the excitement, too. I've never felt this kind of sadness though. Don't feel sorry for me."

"Don't feel sorry for you?" she stated. "You're kidding, right?"

"You don't have to feel sorry for me," he stated again, more seriously.

"So, you can talk to Austin?"

The voice sighed, "No. But he talks to me."

"It must suck. Hearing people, talking to them but no one answers. You're alone."

"Yeah, there is that. But am I really alone? I'm with a thousand other people a night who love what I love."

"And rest of the year?" she demanded. "When no one is around and the corn is gone until next summer?"

The voice chuckled, "You're quite direct."

"I have a best friend who makes me that way."

"The winter and spring is lonely. But Austin breaks in from time to time."

"He really misses you." She could tell when he spoke about his brother, the little that he did. He loved the hell out of the guy.

"I know that."

Ally sat down on the table that had fake body parts on it. "So, here we are. I'm having a conversation with a dead guy I can't see."

"Jeez. You could be a little nicer about it."

Ally smiled slightly, "Would you be?"

"Maybe not."

"I have to go soon. Austin is here early, as I'm sure you know. But I can come back! I'm not really sure how this works, and I still think I'm going to get checked out by Luna for head injuries… but this has been… _nice_. You know?"

The voice laughed, "You're good for him, Ally."

Ally smiled sheepishly, looking around her. "Thanks. I hope he will realize that soon."

"He's just guarded. And please, don't tell him about this? I don't know if I can only talk to you, or what. I've never had this happen and while I know he feels me when he's here, I don't think he's ready to know that his brother is still around and that you can hear him."

"Okay," she said quietly. "Well… this has been… _fun_? I guess… until next time? I'll come early tomorrow, if you want."

Mitch was quiet for a moment, "Yeah. That'd be nice."

Ally Dawson got up, waving at the wind and then paused when she toward the exit. She just made plans with a ghost.

Everyone arrived not long after that, and Ally busied herself with their make up artists, getting into character for the night. She found out she'd be in the house Monday, but in the field that night and the night after. She didn't mind, and now that she knew that she was not only with Austin, but had Mitch watching over her too, she was even more interested in what was to come. They painted her face and worked on her costume. She would be playing a jump scarer, but this time, she got to follow people. According to Luna, people were reacting to her well. They wanted to see what she could do.

"I don't think I'm that good." Ally glanced in the mirror at her costume, shivering when Luna grinned at her. The Queen of the House as others called her, she always had some of the best costumes and make up. That was what happened when you were a haunt mainstay, having spend the last seven fall's with them. The make up varied a bit depending on the night and who was available, but their resident scream queen rocked it all.

"You're doing fantastic. I heard some people talking about you when they got to my room last week!"

"Really?"

Luna nodded. Her phone went off as she stuck her hand in some fake blood, causing her to groan. "That happens every time! Ally, could you see who that is?"

Ally laughed at her annoyance and picked up the girl's phone. "It's Austin. Says he's running a little late. Oh… he says he couldn't get past his parents." She quieted momentarily, "Before you say anything, I know. He told me."

"Did he?" she mused. "Well, that's okay. He's usually early anyway. Just text him back for me and tell him it's fine." The girl smiled. "He's always so worried about not being here on time."

"He's always the first one here!"

"I know."

Ally texted him and then went to exit out of the screen, only to almost drop the phone in alarm. Luna's background was a picture of her and Mitch. Her eyes widened.

"That's Mitchie," she giggled, coming over to look at the boy. She stiffened after a moment, looking sadly in the direction of the corn maze. "He was such a good guy. I miss him so much every day. I'd do anything to have one more deranged conversation with that freak." Ally glanced at her. "Don't take that the wrong way. I'm a freak too. It's why we got a long so great."

If only she knew how close he truly was. "We you together?"

"No," she murmured. "I think he liked me, but he never had the nerve to ask me out. I always wonder what would have happened if... you know."

"Tell me about him." Ally sat on the nearest chair as one of the make up artists continued to work on her face. "I'd love to know more about him."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"He loved all things horror. He really was a freak of nature. I'd met my match. I loved coming to work every day and hearing about some weird horror movie he'd watched over the weekend, or the haunt from a few states over he wanted to road trip to. He loved doing this, so much. He loved to get people to scream in fear. He was part of my set before he did the maze and we freaked people out so bad together. We worked well as a team. He also loved Austin. He treated him like an equal and a partner in crime. It's been really hard on Austin… he misses him so much. I know he goes out into the maze sometimes and just sits there. I don't know what he expects to find. I went in their once since the accident. I felt like throwing up the moment I got to the tree. I haven't gone back in sense. I should have done something. I should have known. The problem was that he was so good at it."

"He died doing what he loved," she told her, speaking from what the boy had told her, but in her eyes speaking in what was hopes to make her feel better. "He'd want you to think of it that way."

"They wanted to tear the set down," she admitted, looking toward the maze herself. "As much as I don't want to be anywhere near it, I couldn't let them. Mitch would have been pissed. Sometimes I wonder if he's still out there, waiting for someone to scare."

"Oh, I bet he is," Ally laughed nervously. "Would fit, wouldn't it? The horror freak being able to truly haunt people."

Luna grinned, "He would. He'd do it if he could."

"Ally!" Sometime later, Austin came running up to her, fully in costume but not his usual one. He looked downright creepy and had she not known the voice, she might have went running. He paused as he came up to her, grinning ear to ear. He stopped just before he'd crash into her and then shook her shoulders. "We're working together tonight!"

"What?"

Her response only seemed to fuel his excitement. "In the maze! Remember how I said I can't do my set tonight because of the wind? Well, Joe is going to chase us. We're going to jump out, you're going to try to drag me—hence all the blood—and Joe is going to run up to us and drag me away through the corn! I begged Jim for hours to let me work with you. I really wanted to."

Her cheeks burned at this. "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. I heard your scream the other night. It rocks." He paused. "Mitch would have loved it."

She thought back to his chuckle in the corn earlier that day. "I'm sure he would have, too. So, should we practice? Or?"

"Practice? I don't know. I mean, do you think you need to? I'm good at pulling stuff out of my ass." His grin made her laugh again and she swatted him. "But if you want to, I'm all for it."

Ally followed him toward the maze, a little nervous to head back in there. She still was somewhat convinced she was insane and that hearing Mitch talk to her was all in her head. But at the same time, she knew she really was talking to him. Would he see her? Could he always see her? Her hand was in Austin's and her heart was hammering in both dread and excitement. His hand was warm; she felt as if they fit together perfectly.

She couldn't tell if the wind was just picking up, or if that was his brother's way of alerting her to his presence. She didn't think so, as last time she could feel the hairs on her neck stand up when he was close. Still, she glanced around her and made faces into the corn, as if to say she was enjoying herself. Austin, much like Luna and Mitch, was quite twisted. He spoke about the Texas Chainsaw movies and how he always wanted to do something like this.

"What's your favorite scary movie?"

Ally laughed, shaking her head, "I don't have one, remember? You wouldn't have even gotten me through the door a month ago."

"Right. You need to come over my house and we need to have a marathon." He looked around him. "We need a real first date. What do you say?"

She felt the hairs on the back of her neck shoot up and shivered. "Yeah. Yeah… I'd like that."

A voice tickled her ear, "You're blushing."

"Of course I am!"

Austin looked confused, "What?"

"Nothing," she laughed. "I'd love to. Whenever you want, but don't be surprised if I'm hiding in my shirt all night long."

By the time Ally was satisfied with the practice, it was almost time for the fans to be let in. Austin went to find Joe, leaving her alone in the corn maze for a moment. She glanced around her, looking for any sign of his brother. "I don't know how this works, but I definitely felt you before."

Nothing happened.

Ally sighed, thinking about checking herself into a hospital when the night was all said and done, and leaned against the tree. She found herself getting bored and a little scared as she waited for everyone to enter, and the rope that hung above her sent chills down her spine. Luckily, even if Mitch was watching, he could only sense her fear. He couldn't know what she was thinking and despite what he'd said and what she was supposed to believe, she wondered how he truly felt in those last few seconds.

Did he like Luna? Did he want to make a move on her? What did he think now that she wouldn't enter the maze?

"Ally!"

Joe came running up to her, the chainsaw bobbing on his side. "Austin will be right in. He wanted to make sure you were good with being chased by one of these."

"I am," she assured him. "Not a big deal."

"Great. I'm going to be in there," he pointed to the break in the corn, and will come after Austin first since he'll be on the ground and all. We should be good. They're getting fans tickets now, it shouldn't be too long before they're on line. If you have any problems tonight, let me know. I know you're still new at this."

She thanked him and watched as he stalked into the corn, waiting from a distance. Austin returned and she felt her excitement rise. She was going to be working with the guy she liked, in a scene that she knew meant a lot to him. And they were going to be scaring people who wanted this. All in all, she felt pretty happy.

The first few groups that went through enjoyed the act. Ally dragged Austin through the corn, pulling her 'injured' friend so that he wouldn't get murdered. She screamed when Joe came through the opening, grabbing hold of Austin and disappearing with him into the dark. His screams were so loud and she even had to shudder. She followed the group pleading for them to help her. Their finale was when Austin was 'thrown' into the middle of the path, practically torn to shreds, one last attempt to scare them before Joe tossed him back into their little personal game.

The fans screamed their asses off. Ally smiled when they left, slapping hands with her bloodied friend. "You look disgusting," she told him, as he poured more blood all over him. He splashed some on her and she squealed, pushing him into the corn.

He was covered in corn dust and looked a bit worse for wear, but it didn't seem to faze him. By the time Joe was back, they were ready for the next group and the night went on. When the last group went through, all three of them were laughing and smiling, knowing the night had been a success. "We're a good team," Austin told her, pulling her close which made her blush. "I wish I could keep you out here."

The wind picked up again, and something giggled into her ear. She glanced at Austin, wondering if he heard it too. He just looked back at her lovingly. Ally smiled back, but couldn't help but think she was lying to the boy she was falling hard for.


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you for the reviews and so sorry that I didn't post this on schedule. I recently started a second job, and it's got me kind of (okay a lot) frazzled. I promise to stay more in the swing of things soon! There is one more "old" chapter after this one then we get to completely new stuff... are you excited? Scared? ;) And thank you for those who pointed out the changes and that they like them. There is plenty more to come. ;)**

 **Let me know what you think. Enjoy!**

* * *

Ally arrived early as promised to her ghoulish new friend the next day, trekking through the corn maze until she reached the set she'd become familiar with. She took measured steps and was careful to monitor every sound in case she missed him. Every stride sent her trembling, not sure what she could encounter along her way. She paused at the tree, peering up at the rope which swung gently in the breeze. She spun a few times for any sign of the boy, or a whisper that might be a bit hard to hear.

"Mitch?" she called out. "Hello?"

Defeated when no one answered her, she leaned against the tree.

"Great. Now I'm here and it isn't working."

She pulled out her phone, searching through an engine to look up things about spirits. Her memory from the day before reminded her that his presence depended on emotions, but she wasn't feeling anything that extreme that day. Maybe a bit annoyed to be hanging out in a creepy corn maze, but otherwise, she felt marvelous. Her mind shifted on his brother and their date after work that night. She tried to focus on that, thinking about how lovely it would feel it have his arms around her, his bare skin touching hers. Her cheeks burned immediately. Even her own thoughts could make her blush.

She heard him then, his chortle tickling her ear. "You're embarrassed. What happened? I've been watching you for the last few minutes."

"How does this work?" she cried, jumping up when she could feel him behind her. Even though she was trying to get him to find her, she still felt invaded by his presence. "I don't understand. How do you know when you can talk to me? Or do you just keep trying until I answer?"

"Something like that," he murmured, his voice hinting apology. "I'm new at this, too. What does your phone say?"

"Not a lot," she admitted. It wasn't like she had long to look. "It doesn't seem like any websites can agree on anything."

"We have to figure this out. I want to know why I can talk to you, but no one else."

"I don't know. Maybe it's because I have a connection to your brother."

"I'd be able to talk to Luna then," he said quietly.

"But she's never in here," she pointed out. "How could you even tell?"

She whirled around, looking for anything that directed where he came from. It was eerie to speak to the wind or air. Besides, her luck someone would show up.

"I can't leave the grounds, but she's been close enough that she could hear me. I've tried. Everything. It doesn't work."

Ally huffed, "Great. I'm a freak."

"No. You're special."

She shrugged, "If you say so."

"I need your help," he pleaded. "I need to figure this out. I know it has to do with emotions because I feel the best at night. Unfortunately, it's a bit hard to talk to people like you when you're in the middle of the maze. I can't exactly ask you a question while you're chasing the fans of this place."

"I know. And I heard you yesterday, by the way. You're going to make me look crazy."

She heard him chuckle, "Sorry."

"I saw you the other night. Remember? When Austin and I kissed? I don't understand that, either. We kissed during a break, so there were a ton of emotions happening all around you. I could see you, maybe others can too. There is only one way to find out."

"Not sure about that."

"Why not?"

"Do you want to explain to Jim why someone sees me and they can't explain the special effects of someone who really wasn't there?"

Ally shrugged, "Do you want answers or not?"

"Touché."

"I'm sorry," she apologized. "I know it's not easy for you either."

"It's alright. I know you think you're going crazy right now, so I'm just trying to be happy that you're talking to me at all."

Ally leaned back against the tree, watching the corn sway back and forth. She did feel crazy. She couldn't see someone, but she could hear his voice. Anyone else would have run the opposite direction, but she was welcoming him. What happened to the Ally who was afraid of her own shadow? This Ally was befriending a ghost.

"Ally?"

"Yeah?"

"You're not crazy," the quiet voice swore. "Please know that."

Timidly, she smiled. "If you say so."

A little while later, she literally ran into Austin, who was already half way in costume, a huge smile on his face. He finally stopped as she raised her eyebrows, wondering if everyone here was just crazy. When he didn't speak, just eerily smile at her, she prompted, "What is wrong with you?"

"Touché," he laughed and Ally was thrown for a loop because they managed to sound alike without even realizing it. "I have great news. Well, hopefully great news! Please say yes."

She raised her eyebrows again, "I have to know the question to answer yes or no."

He pointed a finger, smiling sheepishly. "You're right! So Jim and Luna just approached me. The fans are talking all about us on the internet and how awesome we were together! The reviews are at an all time high. How would you like to switch your character and come work in the maze with me full time?"

She was taken back. She didn't think she was all that great, but maybe part of it was because she enjoyed working with him so much that it showed in her acting skills. Or maybe she really was just good at it, and paired with someone even better, they shined. Still, she did like her character in the house. A breeze picked up then and she thought about Mitch and her promise to help him. It would be much easier to do that if she was around the set more often. She paused for effect one last time, glancing sideways toward whatever to see if he could give her his opinion.

A face was made when she felt nothing. Yeah, she needed to be out here. "I'll do it."

"Yes!" He pumped his fists into the air, dancing around her, swinging her in costume. "Yes! This is going to be great." He paused, giving her a look. "You are okay with me being in the tree, right? I know you know the story now, and I don't want to scare you."

"It's fine," she assured him. "I don't mind. Just be careful, that's all I ask."

Austin's smile reminded her of the one that Mitch had on his face the night they kissed and it made her too feel a bit warmer despite the breeze that night. "I will. But I do not promise to not scare your pants off!"

A chuckle entered her ear then and she smiled into the maze, shaking her head as he darted off toward the entrance. Ally found herself back against the tree, not sure what to say about the entire situation but still knowing he was around. "The emotions are high," she finally stated quietly. "And it looks like I'm here to stay."

"Yes," his voice answered. "Looks that way. Can't wait."

He was quiet for a moment,

"You know, you two sort of remind me of myself and Luna."

Ally was taken back, "Luna is a scream queen! I'm mostly just a screamer."

He chuckled again, "Oh, Ally."

Ally found it hard to concentrate that night despite it being their first official night together. She knew she was headed for a date after the show and wanted nothing more to be cuddling with the adorable blond who was scaring everyone. Her cheeks despite the cool air were warm and she could feel someone behind her sometimes, knowing his brother wasn't far. Joe was off that night, having a personal issue and in his place was the back up. She remembered him being the guy that Luna was with on occasion, she believed his name was Ben?

By the time intermission rolled around, Ally was sweaty and out of breath. Quickly, she darted over to the tree, lowering the machine so that the 'noose' was no longer around Austin's neck. He rubbed it, as it was an actual rope and could leave burns from time to time.

"You okay?"

"Fine," Austin assured her. "I know you don't believe in them, but I swear: sometimes I feel Mitch here."

Ally's heart jumped in her throat. She didn't know if that was a good thing or bad, considering Mitch was new at this too. What would happen if he appeared during a set with fans about? She wasn't sure what Austin would do. Would he believe he was seeing things or would he know? Ally wished to tell him.

"Well, it's only natural," she finally commented, shooting a glance near the tree. "I'm sure you're not the only one who feels that way."

"I asked Luna about it once," he murmured as they walked toward the small area behind the corn where they kept water bottles and small snacks for that sort of thing. "She pretty much told me I was crazy and to never bring it up again. I think what happened seriously scarred her. I can't say it wouldn't have done the same to me."

Luna had found him, after all. Ally felt her sympathy rehash itself and she wondered how the girl managed to still work at this place at all. Honor for him or not, there was something a bit horrid about being anywhere near the set. Then again, Austin did it and she thought it noble of him. Something swatted the back of her head then and she flipped around, shooting daggers from her eyes. If he was learning, he shouldn't be using it to harm her when she was with his brother!

"What's the matter?" Austin asked, noticing her expression.

Ally glowered at the corn, "Nothing. Must be a fly."

"Oh, so now I'm a fly?!"

Austin laughed, "Don't let the corn make you crazy."

"Believe me, you have no idea," Ally murmured quietly as she grabbed a bottle of water.

The night went swiftly and soon they were behind the scenes using make up remover to get off the tough stains that often plagued their face. The problem with using commercial movie make up meant it was nearly impossible to get off. Soon, Ally was scrubbing at Austin's face, trying to get a particularly rough blood stain off his cheek. Luna found her way up to them, giggling at the situation. "How did you like the guy who chased you tonight?" she asked Ally.

"Who?" Ally muttered. "Oh! You mean the guy who replaced Joe? He was alright. Didn't talk much."

"Yeah," Austin agreed. "He was quiet. He looked familiar though."

Luna grinned a little, "He should. That's Ben. He was here… that year. Helped a lot with building the sets out in the corn maze. He's a technical genius."

"I remember him now!" Austin stated. "He was the one who helped Mitch with the set. He knows it in and out. Got some of the better ideas for how it work it, too."

Luna nodded, "Yeah, that's him. I'm surprised you haven't seen me talking to him, Austin. He's been in the house doing background work for a few days. Apparently, he had some personal issues the last couple of years, but he's back now. I don't know if he's in the maze to stay or not, since Joe has been doing it for the last two, but I know they'll find a good spot for him. He's twisted and I love it."

"Whose twisted and you love it?"

Speaking of the man; Ben came walking up to him. Ally finally dropped the make up wipe she was using; surprised to see under the chainsaw costume the guy was quite attractive. She had never seen him up close before. He was tall, much like Joe was because it was needed for the character, and quite muscular where some others weren't. And he had these striking green eyes that Ally couldn't help but stare at. He seemed to notice, pointing at her.

"You! You have a great scream," he stated.

Ally blushed, "It's natural when someone in a terrifying costume is chasing you."

Luna giggled, "That's Ally, Ben. She's new this year. She's my little prodigy but she doesn't even know it. Be nice to her."

"Would I ever be anything else?"

Austin laughed, "I remember you as quite the prankster."

"Ahh," Ben too laughed. "Good to know my reputation has stuck around. Be on the lookout," he teased. He then turned to Luna, "And what are you doing tonight, Ms. Queen?"

"Oh, I was just going to head home," she teased too. "Why, you offering me something better to do?"

Ben chuckled, "Maybe."

"Well," Austin stated, standing up. "Me and Ally have a date. Catch you two later."

Ally waved as he grabbed her arm, pulling her away. She noticed Ben staring at them as they walked to her car, an interesting look on his face.

Ally was surprised how silent Austin remained on the short ride to his home. She drove with his instructions, the only chatter he made until they were in front of his two story house. It was a suburban home, much like her own; with a wide porch and a two car drive way. She noticed his car still on the side of the street, and it reminded her that he had gotten there by Dez that day. Some times, it was hard to sneak to work when your parents don't know where you earn your cash from. Especially when it was the same place your brother died a few years prior.

Ally bit back a smile at the thought of Mitch. Did he realize just where their first date would be held? He'd tease her up and down the corn maze if he knew. Finally, Austin cleared his throat, offering her a tentative smile, getting out of the car. It would be interesting to see how he explained her appearance to his parents, considering he couldn't say where they actually met.

She followed him up the stone path until they were in front of the door, which he quickly unlocked and much to her surprise, to a dark home. He shrugged his shoulders as if he sensed her question, "My parents probably are at a party. They tend to do that. It's their way of dealing with the past."

"Drinking?"

"Partying in general," he admitted.

Ally frowned but didn't push the boy further. She followed him into the kitchen that was kept almost perfectly, with an island in the middle.

Austin motioned to a chair, "Take a seat. I'll make us some snacks and we'll start our movie marathon."

"I was hoping you would forget about that part of the date."

He turned to give her a teasing smile, "Oh no. You are watching the best of the best."

"Yeah?"

"Mitch and Luna chose these years ago. They're our favorites."

"Should I be afraid?"

He gave her a look that she recognized as one of the ones he used for his scene.

"Fair enough."

"You'll like them though. They all have something special. A true meaning of horror."

"Can I hide behind the covers?"

"No."

She grinned a little, "What about cuddling?"

Austin turned again as he placed some food into bowls. "I'll allow that."

She noticed the teasing tone and smirked to herself. "Tell me more about your brother."

He froze in front of the microwave. "What do you want to know?"

Ally got up, walking over to where he stood. "I don't know. I know how much you loved him. Tell me about him. Luna says he was just as twisted as her."

"Luna and him were inseparable," he agreed. "He used spend hours searching the internet for horror movies and scary shit. I never thought I'd get into it, but it kind of just gets to you. I love it myself, but I don't think I'll ever love it as much as he did. Luna and him should have been dating for years now, on their way to an engagement…"

"She did say she thought he liked her."

Austin laughed, "She thought? He was head over heels for her. Used to come home from the haunt and tell me how he was going to marry this girl at the place every day. He thought he could out scare her. Never worked, but then again, maybe it did."

She shivered involuntarily. "Well, I don't know what to say."

"Don't worry about it. Mitch is gone, but I know he'll always live on between myself and the haunt. Luna still has her background on her phone the last picture they took together. I don't understand why my parents are so upset with the haunt; it wasn't their fault. I know if Mitch knew he'd be pissed, he'd never want to harm the place. I know he'd be proud of me."

"I'm sure he is."

Austin smiled at her and took the food he'd gathered in his hands. "Come on, let's go upstairs. My room has the best set up for watching movies."

He moved quickly through the hallway, to a stairway that was littered with pictures on the way up. She studied them as she walked, surprised to only see Austin and his parents in the majority of them, and the few that weren't them were strangers to her. Where was Mitch? Did they try and erase that he was ever there? Was his memory too much for them? Her heart hurt for the man stuck in the corn maze; he'd never know that his family seemingly couldn't handle that he was gone. At least, gone to them.

She considered asking her date the question, but figured she already had the answer. At least Austin seemed to still care about his brother. She confirmed this thought when she entered his room and saw several pictures that were decorating his walls. Pictures of him at the haunt, with Luna in costume. She shivered at those the most, because from a distance, it looked like Austin. While Austin was more jock-body type, he was a bit more stocky yet lean, his eyes a bright blue. His costume still reminded her of the boy setting up beside the bed though, a huge TV situated on a table with more DVDs than she knew possible next to that. He turned to look at her and laughed, "That picture of him and Luna is my favorite. That was the first year they worked together, back when he was just a jump scarer who wanted to scare his way into her heart."

"Do you think Luna liked him too?"

He nodded after a second. "I do, but I think she wanted him to pursue her. Luna's not the type to go after someone. She's rather they come to her. It's a shame."

She nodded and went to the next picture. A picture of him and Mitch together. Side by side, she was able to notice the differences more easily, but it was still clear that they were brothers. She immediately realized as her eyes went to the next and then after that, that his brother's memory would only live on in those in the haunt, himself and now her too included.

"I forgot drinks!" he announced. "Be right back. Make your self comfy!"

She laughed as he darted out of the room and quickly pulled out her phone, snapping pictures that were on the wall. She figured that her new ghostly friend hadn't seen these in years or a picture of Luna for that same reason and wanted to remind him just how much he was missed. Besides, something would have to trigger his new found powers to grow, and she was eager to figure out what that was.

"Back!" he said as she plopped onto the bed. He handed her a drink and then sat down next to her on the bed, grinning ear to ear as he announced their first movie. A classic, he stated, was the movie Halloween. She couldn't help but laugh, knowing she had seen part of that. Trish had black and blues for weeks from her grip, before she finally begged her to turn it off. She hoped history wouldn't repeat itself with Austin. That would be very embarrassing both to her, and him.

Sometime later, she found herself oddly relaxed. He let her hide in his side when needed, but also taught her some of the things horror movies survived by. She learned as much as she watched and by the end of the night, not only were they cuddling in his bed, but she wasn't shaking from fear. She actually felt sort of… at home with him. It didn't feel foreign by any means; she didn't feel like she wasn't supposed to be there. Ally wondered why this was. The last movie had ended about a half hour ago, but neither of them had tried to get out of bed and change it to a new one. He had one arm wrapped around her waist, holding her close to him while he planted a kiss on her neck every now and then. She could feel his chest rise and fall as it was pressed against her. She truly enjoyed the moment.

Until a door slammed downstairs and she heard, "Austin! We're home! Where are you?"

He cursed, immediately getting up and cleaning the room around him. The DVDs disappeared from sight and he quickly made the bed, trying to assure his date at the same time that everything was fine, they wouldn't be mad. Ally stood in the corner, a little afraid of what was going to happen when they opened his room and found a girl standing there. It wasn't like she was wearing no clothes, or they'd been doing anything naughty, because they hadn't been. She was also relieved that Mitch was stuck at the maze because she knew he'd be giggling in her ear at this point if not, too.

The footsteps got louder until they were outside of his door and without a knock, it opened.

"Austin!" a blonde woman scolded. "I was calling you!"

"Sorry, mom," he grinned, rubbing the back of his neck. "I didn't hear you. How was your night?"

"It was—who is this?"

Ally was spotted. The blonde woman, dressed extravagantly in a sequined black cocktail dress, turned to look at her with eyes that somehow scared her. "This is Ally, mom. She's a friend. I invited her over tonight to watch a movie or two. It was short notice, or I would have told you."

"Where did you meet her?" The woman's eyes didn't leave Ally. She wondered if she could sense the traces of make up on her face. It was late; her parents would have killed her on the spot if she was found in a room with a boy at this hour. Luckily, they thought she was with Trish. Still, this woman didn't seem concerned about the hour, or the fact that they were alone, at all.

"I met her at a party last week," he quickly lied and surprisingly well. "We hit it off. She's into a lot of the same music I am."

"Is that so?" She smiled at Ally, though it seemed almost fake. "And what a beautiful girl she is. Nice to meet you, Ally." The woman swung her hair back. "Well, on that note, I think I will retire to bed with your father. Remember Austin, you need to start looking for a job this week. You've been spending too much time with your friends. You need to start working."

His cheeks burned. "I will, mom. Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

The moment the door closed, Austin began to apologize, "I am so sorry. I didn't think they'd be home until the morning, to be honest. She's a bit… demanding. Again, I'm sorry. She doesn't care that you're here, she just wants to know every moment of my life so that somehow she thinks she knows what's going on." He paused, looking a bit sheepish. "Like me looking for a job. She doesn't know I have one, obviously."

"Luna told me."

He shook his head, "It's ridiculous. She'd rather pretend what makes me happy doesn't exist. I have to bend over backwards to lie every weekend so that I can get to the haunt. One of these days, someone is going to find out and I'm going to be so screwed."

"You're eighteen; she can't possibly stop you from having a job, can she?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. I still live here. I don't have the money or the means to move out. It's not that I really want to, either. Despite this, they're not bad. They're overprotective in a lot of ways, but they're not bad. I mean, most of the time they're not even around. I pretty much have the house to myself. They own a store in the city; they either are working there, or going to their own parties. I rarely see them. It's how I get away with not getting a job. Because the question only gets asked on a monthly basis."

Ally blinked in surprise. "My father would have already thrown you to the streets if he caught me in a room with a boy."

He chuckled, "Don't blame him."

"So, what do you want to do now?"

"Shouldn't you be getting home?" he worried. "I don't want to make your parents upset."

"They think I'm at Trish's," she said nervously. "I don't have to be anywhere."

"Well, I know what we could do…"


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you for the reviews and I'm sorry it's taking me a bit to update. I've got a lot on my plate right now and I'm trying to balance it. I promise we'll be better soon! Haha. :)**

 **Let me know what you think. Enjoy!**

* * *

"You have to tell me all about it!" Ally ran away from her best friend, who followed her through the backstage area of the haunted house. It was Columbus Day, their last day before the work week started again, and also the last day she could catch Mitch for another four days. But her best friend knew that something went down last night, as her face was a dead giveaway. She couldn't help it. She didn't have a poker face.

"No! I'm not talking about it!"

"Did you have sex?"

Ally froze in place, turning around to give her best friend a wild look. "Excuse you! I do not have sex on the first date!"

"I'm kidding," Trish joked. "I was just trying to get you to stop. Come on, tell me! I'll tell you about my date with Dez."

She gave into her best friend's demands, figuring they were there way earlier than anyone else anyway, and it wouldn't hurt to stop for a few minutes before trying to find her crush's brother. "Okay, fine. So, we watched movies until it was really late and his parents showed up. And before you ask, no they didn't care that I was still there. Actually, they seemed to care less. After they went to bed, we made out. … and clothes might have come off at some point, and ugh! Stop giggling! This is why I didn't want to tell you! It wasn't like that. I didn't mean for it to happen. It just did."

"Is he a good kisser?"

Ally leaned against a display, smiling to herself. "Oh yeah."

"Dez is too. I wasn't expecting that."

"I still can't believe you're with him," Ally admitted. "He's not your type, at all."

"Well, I really like him. He's funny and weird."

Ally didn't comment on that. "Well, I need to go check the maze. I think I lost something there the other day. I couldn't find it in my bag the other night."

"Want me to go with you? It's still creepy in there during the day."

"No, no. It's okay. I'll be fine. I'll catch you in like a half hour, okay?"

"Sure thing, girl. Remember, when you do have sex, wear protection!"

Ally squeaked as her friend ran off, shaking her head. All she needed was for Mitch to sense her embarrassment. As she neared the corn maze, she tried to shake it off. There would be no explaining what happened with his brother last night. It was bad enough telling her best friend, let alone his… dead brother.

By the time she made it inside, she was feeling better. She walked the short distance to their set up, searching for any sign of her ghostly friend. When she didn't sense him, she sighed. "I wish there was a handbook for this." Slumping down against the tree, she huffed. "Damn it."

"Everything okay?"

Ally nearly flew into the branches ahead. Much to her surprise, it wasn't Mitch that was standing over her, but the guy from last night, Ben. He was holding some sort of wire, looking down at her with green eyes laced with concern. She bit back a laugh, wondering just how he managed to sneak up on her when he was so large.

"Sorry, didn't know you were there."

"What are you doing here?" Ben asked. "The haunt doesn't start for hours."

She raised her eyebrows. "Could ask you the same question."

He chuckled, showing her the wires. "I'm tech savvy. I'm fixing something for Jim."

"Oh."

"Didn't answer my question," he teased.

She didn't have an answer and felt the panic rising up in her. She wasn't a good liar under pressure and there was no way she could tell him the truth. Especially not him! She didn't know him and probably wouldn't believe her! "I uh…"

Beyond her, something crashed and it caught his attention. "What was that?"

A chuckle tickled her ear. "Don't worry, it's good."

"I don't know," Ally admitted. "It didn't sound good. Maybe you should go check."

"I will." He dropped the wires beside her. "Be right back. Stay here."

The tall, dark haired man disappeared into the corn maze and Ally turned to face where she felt the tickle come from. "You are going to get me into so much trouble someday!"

"Oh, relax."

"Yeah, easy for you to say. I don't want people to think I'm crazy."

"Too late," he teased into her ear.

"Mitch," she scolded.

"What did he say he was doing here again?"

Ally shrugged, "Fixing one of the sets, I guess."

"Weird."

"Why?"

"I didn't seem him near any of them. He was just wandering as far as I could tell."

Ally stiffened, "Maybe he didn't know which one."

"Which what?"

Ally jumped a second time as the tall man returned, giving her a look of confusion. Mitch! She was going to… oh wait, she couldn't harm him. A blush formed on her cheeks, for two reasons. "Nothing, I was just thinking out loud. I had lost something here last night and came to find it. Guess it's not here. Anyway, good luck with the set you're fixing! Will I see you tonight?"

"Oh, not in here. I'm working one of the money booths. Joe is here tonight."

"Oh, okay!"

"Do you like him?"

Ally was taken back by the question. "Who, Joe?"

"Yeah, is he good at this?"

Ally nodded her head. "Yeah, I'd say so. But then again, I'm new at this."

Ben smiled at her, "You're a natural. What about Austin?"

"What about him?"

"Do you like him?"

Her blush returned, "Is it obvious?"

"Oh, like that. Right. You guys had a date last night. I remember him saying that."

"And you had one with Luna…"

" _What?_!" She heard him huff, and tried to ignore the jealous ghost.

"Yeah, we did. Wasn't bad. She's a really cool girl. I missed working with her."

"Yeah, I really like her. She's taught me a lot."

Ben nodded, grabbing the wires again. "Alright, I'll let you go."

"See you later!"

The holiday weekend was supposed to bring a large crowd that night, and after her odd encounter with the dark brunet that afternoon, she was more than relieved to know he was working inside the house and not in the maze that night. Luna sat beside her on a chair, while both of them had make up drenched on their skin, explaining that both the warm weather and everyone being off was going to make for one insane night at the haunt.

"I'm excited," Ally admitted. "I loved working in the house, but I love working with Austin, too."

"I may have had something to do with that," she hummed, trying to look unimpressed.

Ally raised her eyebrows, getting a dirty look from her make up artist. "What?!"

"I knew you two liked each other, and I know you don't get to see each other often otherwise since you live across town, so I suggested to Jim that you work with him. Besides, as I'm sure Austin told you, the fans loved you two and wanted more."

Her cheeks burned, "Thanks, Luna."

"Just enjoy yourself. There is nothing better than working with a Moon." Her eyes twinkled.

If only she knew she was really working with two.

By the time she was done with make up, Austin had found her and was bouncing off the walls per usual. He nearly dragged her from her chatting friends, pulling her into the corn maze and near the set. He was excited for the night for the same reasons Luna was: it was supposed to be insane customer wise. "The more I scare, the better I feel!"

She didn't know if she felt that way, but was more than thrilled for the boy before her. She took the time to peek around her while he chatted loudly, looking for any signs that the whole weird ghost thing was happening. If Mitch was watching, he wasn't able to communicate. Ally got an idea. While Mitch didn't want Austin to know that he was around, it didn't mean she could question him otherwise!

"Hey, Austin?"

He peered up from below his set, working on something. "Yeah?"

"What do you know about ghosts?" He seemed taken back by her question and she sensed tension beyond her. "I mean, I was reading up on stuff this morning, and I was thinking about how it all worked. Do you really think they can communicate with the living? I read something about them being able to communicate with others, but not being able to touch them. I know you're an expert in all fields scary…"

Austin ate it up. "Oh, yeah. I've done a lot of research on it. Believe it or not, not many agree on how it all works." His eyes darkened momentarily, looking toward the tree. "I especially tried to find out how it works after his death, thinking if it did work I could still have some sort of relationship with my brother. Twisted as it would be." Her heart hurt as he admitted this and she wanted to yell at the boy who she couldn't see. His brother, despite the smiles and craze, missed Mitch and would do anything to see him, yet she couldn't tell him he was probably just a few feet away. "But I couldn't figure everything out and if he is still around, Mitch hasn't tried to talk to me. I do know this: the more energy there is surrounding something, the more powerful they are."

This wasn't news to her, but she thought maybe he could expand on it. "What do you mean?"

"They thrive on energy: happiness, fear, any of it. That's why I wanted you here," he admitted. "I thought maybe if it was two people…" He trailed off, clearly upset. "Nevermind. I believe in them, but I don't think it's as easy as it seems."

But Ally wanted to jump for joy! Maybe they didn't know much more, but it did explain something. Her presence seemed to strengthen the older boy, but the question still was: why? There were tons of other actors in the field of corn, and even more customers with enough emotions to sink a ship. "Do you think a personal relationship would stand more?"

Austin nodded, "Oh yeah…"

Ally smiled, looking around her. "Huh."

Before anyone could say anything else, Joe showed up. "Oh, look! The man returns. How dare you take a day off!"

The tall man chuckled, shaking his head. "Sorry, dude. I had other commitments. How did it go yesterday?"

"It wasn't bad. Ben was out here with us," Austin cut in, with a smile. "He's a cool guy."

"A little strange," Ally added, ignoring the look Austin gave her. "He was here earlier. I thought I lost something and came looking for it, and he was here."

"Probably fixing a set," Austin said, waving her off. "Not a big deal."

Ally bit down on her tongue, trying to ignore the urge to tell him it was definitely something otherwise. "He's a good dude," Austin instead stated. "Nothing to worry about."

Joe shared a look with Ally, who tried to keep the positive outlook that her scream partner did. They quickly finished preparing their set and then met up near the front for the final meeting between the group of scarers before customers would be let in. Their bosses stood in front, eyes gleaming with pride and probably dollar signs, too. You could hear the waiting crowd on the other side of the large fence, chatting and shrieking about what they were about to witness. Ally found it hard to focus on what they were talking about.

"… You all have done great so far! Reviews are at an all time high and I could not be more proud of this year's cast than I am. Keep rocking it, my ghouls and ghosts, and this will be our best year yet. Take your positions, and let's give everyone a good ole scare!"

Ally followed Austin to the corn maze, listening to him ramble more about a former act he used to do, her attention still elsewhere, focused on how she could help his brother. Still, she admired his dedication and pride in what he did. She just wished that he'd been able to share that love with his brother for a longer period of time. One glance over her shoulder, she hoped for some sort of sign he was there, but again was met with nothing. She took a deep breath as she heard the first signs of customers, giving a look to the tree, and hoped he was watching. Maybe learning, even. There had to be something that could be done.

An hour into their set, she was exhausted and sweaty; the Miami heat particularly brutal that night. She hid back in the corn, after chasing a group into the shifting corn. She giggled against Austin, shaking her head. She knew she was one of them not too long ago, but she was beginning to feel the delight in which meant terrifying someone else in the name of the season. "I love doing this," she admitted quietly.

"Me too."

"Shh!" Joe hissed, pointing at an upcoming group from his higher standpoint. Austin moved forward, ready to climb the tree and she began to poke out from the corn. She shrieked, sending her customers doing the same, and Joe came forward with his chainsaw. She pleaded with them to help her, just as Austin swung down in the tree, planting his character quite nicely. The girls, probably no older than sixteen, shrieked and ran off without a chance for them to follow. Ally leaned back against the tree, shaking her head. It was so simple.

"Can you release the rope please?" Austin teased from above.

Ally giggled, shaking her head. "Sorry! I forgot." She felt a chuckle at her ear. "Hi, Mitch."

He whispered back, "Hey."

"About time," she added, going behind the tree to release the rope. It was stuck. "Hang on, Austin! It's stuck or something. Give me a second." She pulled on the rope, trying to release it but again, it didn't budge. With a frown, she tugged on it a second time, and she noticed the display behind her start to shake. Before she knew it, and with just enough time to dodge out of the way, the heavy wooden panel came flying down on Austin, knocking him forcefully to the ground with the rope still around his neck.

Ally remembered screaming, more than anything. She next remembered hearing Mitch's voice. He was speaking to her, clearly and with force. "Ally, snap out of it. Snap out of it! You have to help him. Now!" She broke from her daze, having tumbled into the uncut corn and landed on her butt. Beside her, she saw Joe on the ground, seemingly knocked out. But what alarmed her further was Austin, still attached, the rope still taunt, with a heavy board pushing down on it, so that Austin was choking. He was swinging best he could, trying his hardest to make the display move off of it. Ally got to her feet, still a bit foggy and tried to think of what else to do.

Then, she remembered.

The cast had a safe word. A word that meant if there was any real kind of emergency, all characters would be broken. So, she did what she learned she did best. She screamed it; loudly as she could until she could hear the footsteps of others. With the help of some familiar faces, she tried her best to blubber out what had happened. Within seconds, another one of the actors had climbed the tree and was using a pocket knife to cut the rope. Austin fell to the ground, hard and suddenly.

Ally was by his side in seconds, fingers working to take the rope off his neck while he coughed and sputtered into the dirt. She heard him wheeze, but he did not look up. His body shook. Everything about the situation seemed to replay his brother's death, except he'd been lucky.

He was still there.

The other actor looked down at her, a bewildered expression on his face. The sets were checked for safety every morning by the owners; what caused one of them to malfunction?

Austin clutched onto her, much to her surprise and she did her best to hold him.

Something felt off here and she couldn't place why.

After the initial freak-out, the haunt closed for the night. All the people inside were given the choice of a refund or another night's ticket, and then the actors were told to meet up in the main room for a mandatory meeting. Ally hadn't seen much of her boss, Jim since the incident, but what she had was less than pretty: furious. Screaming and cursing, he was probably a bit scared himself. He'd almost lost another actor, only hours after okaying the set functional for that night.

Luna was with Ally. Austin was being checked out by a doctor in the other room.

"Try and breathe. I know it's easy for me to say, but you have to try and calm down."

She looked at the young woman beside her whose eyes said more than she did. Her eyes also showed fear. She came this close to losing her former friend's brother the same way. There was something horribly, hauntingly ironic about it.

"I can't believe it."

"I know. I know. Believe me, I know."

Luna ran her hands through her colorful hair, glaring at the wall that separated them and Austin. "What the hell is taking so damn long? I'm sure by now they can tell if he needs to go to a hospital or not?" She slammed her hands down on the nearby counter, shaking her head. A part of Ally knew she wanted to see the boy for herself, make sure he was okay in her eyes. Ally herself wanted that reassurance. She hadn't seen him since the group came running over.

"Luna?"

"What?!"

Oh, the irony in how she acted. What was calm? She didn't believe anyone knew.

Ally cringed as she flung around, eyes softening when she saw Ben standing there.

"Sorry, Ben. Not a good time."

"I wanted to make sure you were alright."

"I'm fine," she said curtly, and Ally cringed a second time. Nothing like getting shot down.

"Alright," Ben said, interrupting her thoughts. "I'm around if you need me."

His voice was soft, caring and Luna softened further, giving him a tiny smile.

Then the door opened and Austin walked in with Jim. Neither looked happy. Austin nearly ran to their sides and she tried to ignore the nasty rope burn around his neck. Ally wondered where Mitch was in all of this and how he felt seeing his brother swing like he did on the rope. She didn't have a chance to ask him anything before she was swarmed earlier. Little did Austin know, his own brother had helped save him. She'd been too scared to do much else before he reminded her.

"Austin," Luna breathed, pulling him tightly into a hug. "I'm so glad you're okay."

He still seemed shaky, but nodded his head slowly. It seemed to hurt him. "I'll be fine. It's just bruised."

"Good God," she murmured, tracing her fingers along the line.

"Ally," he realized, coming up beside her. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she chuckled. "I really don't think you should be asking me that. You're the one who almost got…"

Bad line. Ally again cringed.

He chuckled, much to her own surprise. "Right. I'm okay. I'm just glad that no one was seriously hurt."

"Right," she agreed. "It could have been worse."

"Attention! All cast come up!" Jim was in rare form. He stormed about until everyone was waiting for his direction. Bluntly, he started, "I'm ridding the set of "the Hang" with Austin and the others. Too much is at stake and I don't want to see anyone else hurt with what could possibly be a faulty line."

Austin and Luna protested nearly at the same time. "No!" and "What?! Fuck that!" respectfully were stated.

Jim pointed a finger at Luna first. "We spoke about this, Luna. Weeks ago. I told you it was a bad idea. I told you someone would get hurt."

She seemed unsure on how to proceed. She couldn't argue he was wrong because the red marks around her friend's neck said otherwise, but she also was willing to fight for what Mitch had loved and Austin was trying to keep alive. She slumped her shoulders, but looked to Austin. His eyes were still hopeful and it gave her a second thought, "You can't do that," she finally stated. "We both know how much it meant to him and how degrading it would be to take it away."

"I understand you lost someone," Jim said, his voice low as he came up to them. "I can't allow something that is taken one life and almost a second, Luna. That's not bad business: that's putting my actors at risk and I am not at the point where I feel that it's okay anymore."

Much to her surprise, she backed down, finally giving up.

Austin decided something for all of them, "Fine." He shrugged his shoulders. "Then I quit."

The older man rolled his eyes. "Fine."

Luna smiled slightly, "Me too."

Out of either shock, or understanding, Ally nodded her head. "Me too." Over the next couple of seconds, more people started to say they would leave the haunt as well.

"Are you kidding me?" he seethed his reply. "What the hell is wrong with all of you?!"

The other two just shrugged, but Ally knew why she stated her response. The only way she could help Mitch was if she was in there and if she was stuck inside, there would not get anywhere near where they needed. Maybe somehow, the others felt it too. They might not know he was in there, but they sensed the importance.

Jim threw up his hands, pointing another finger at Luna. "There is one last chance. There is too much at stake here and I don't want this on my hands again. We all knew how dangerous the set was back then and it's only showing itself to do that once more. If you can live with saying goodbye to another friend, fine. You all have your wish. I just hope you can live with the consequences of your choices."


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you for the reviews and here is the first chapter that isn't part of what is already written. All new material here, folks! So, because of how I messed up my posting, you'll be getting chapters a little sooner than before. Look for the next chapter sometime during the week, probably later in the week. October is one of my favorite months - I love horror movies and haunted houses, and my haunted house (the local one I based this story off of) just opened tonight! I wanted to go, but it rained, and hard, so I doubt they actually had the opening night anyway. Either way, it's now horror time and I'm so excited. It's such a fun time, and I can't wait to check out their haunt this year. They are so talented, and like I said, Luna is based off one of their actresses. That said, here is chapter five!**

 **Let me know what you think. Enjoy!**

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"I'm sorry for how I acted the other night," Austin said two days later to Ally, after they agreed to meet for lunch during the week. Ally, who had been knee-deep and headache-worthy into her research the last two days (she had two written pages with notes, as well as a few print-outs—she was determined to find anything that could help her boyfriend's brother), was glad for the escape, if only for a couple of hours.

Besides, her lunch-date was really sweet. Still, the angry red line reminded them both of what happened Monday night, and she was slow to answer his apology. Austin practically stormed out of there following Jim's retort, and he didn't answer her texts or calls until that morning. She understood; it was frightening to think what happened, happened, but she also knew that in order to get past it, he'd have to let it go.

"It's understandable," she finally replied, smiling at him while she took a sip of her drink. "How did your parents react? What did you tell them?"

Austin groaned, rather loudly, earning a look from the table next to them. He then whispered, "I told them that I was goofing off with friends at a party. That I had a little too much to drink, and some things were done. They didn't want anymore details, were too mad that I was drinking—I'd still rather have that reaction to the real one, believe me."

She nodded a second time. "I get that, too. Do you think they'll ever allow you to openly work at the haunt again?"

"Probably not," he murmured. "It's like it's the worst thing I could ever do as their child. I don't think they realize how big of a slap to the face it is for me." He quickly changed the subject, "So, how have you been? I know I've been absent."

"Alright," she answered, stirring her drink. Their food was not out yet, and she was looking for something to do with her hands. She didn't want to admit to him what she found while doing her research. It seemed cruel to her to imply something that very well might be false. Besides, he didn't know she was doing any sort of studying anyway, and might question her if she brought it up. So, she made up a lie. "Just working on school stuff and hanging out with Trish. All very normal things."

He seemed to shift gears a second time in those few minutes. His eyes darkened, and then he looked back at her. "There is something I didn't tell you. I didn't want to tell anyone. I was kind of hoping as the last few days went on, the thought would dissipate from my mind; that I would find some sort of reasonable explanation for it."

That sounded serious, so she gave him her full attention. "And what's that?"

"About what happened on Monday," he added, looking around him. "I don't think the set malfunctioned."

"You don't?" she couldn't help but ask. That meant so much considering what she had learned last night, but she wanted to see what else he had to say before agreeing with him, sharing the thoughts she had concerning the whole ordeal.

Austin nodded, looking down at his own drink. "When Luna came to me earlier this year about working at the haunt, she brought up working in the corn maze. She asked me what I wanted to do, knowing I'd been waiting until I turned eighteen to do it, since I didn't need parental permission of course. I told her what I thought and she was absolutely against it at first. I understand why. But when I finally got her to agree, we went over the structural details of the entire set, making sure it was pretty much accident-proof. The only way for something to go wrong is if someone moved something, or something was purposely made so that it did not do as set up."

Ally's face drained of color; her heart starting to pound in it's chest. Could she tell him? She didn't want to believe it herself.

"You look like you've seen a ghost," he said darkly, which would've been so much more ironic if he only knew. "What's the matter?"

She set down her drink, only seconds from taking a sip from it. A loud laugh from the table next to theirs stopped her momentarily, giving her a second to try and poise her thoughts into something less upsetting. It didn't help all that much. "There's something I didn't tell you," she admitted. "And it has to do with the set."

His posture stiffening and his eyes widening made her only feel worse, "What is it?"

"I was bored last night and started searching the internet for videos about the haunt. I came across a video that had to do with the original building of the current set. I saw video of Mitch describing it—how excited he was." The pain evident on his face was enough to make her want to stop, but she knew he was also itching for her to continue. "You know Ben? The one that Luna is always with? He was the one helping build it. He knows all the details."

At first, he seemed angry. His face went through a mix of emotions, all different from the last. A sigh was his final stance, until he spoke, "What does that have to do with anything? Are you saying you think Ben did something to the set?"

"I don't know. I don't want to accuse anyone of something so serious," she muttered. "I just think he had the knowledge of how it all worked."

He reasoned, "No, not really. Ben set up the original set; he doesn't know of the modifications to it. He wasn't there this summer when I helped a few of the guys rebuild it. He wouldn't know."

Ally swallowed, shaking her head. "Okay, but what if I told you this? I ran into him the other day when I left something behind in the corn. He was by the set, with wires. He told me he was fixing it but he didn't even stay there. I just thinking something is a little off. You're the one who said you thought someone might have tampered with it."

Austin shook his head fiercely, "No, I don't believe it. Why would he mess with the set? He was here when it did malfunction last time; he would do just the opposite. I know he values what this haunt has to offer. He's a decent guy; Luna likes him. I don't believe it."

Their food came, and Ally busied herself with it. She didn't want to argue, and with the way the conversation was headed, it was clear they'd do just that.

Despite their conversation and Austin's assurance that he didn't think Ben had anything to do with it, she couldn't get his admittance from her mind. He flat-out said that it would not have malfunctioned without someone touching it. What else did that leave them? She was sure she hadn't been around the set enough to hinder it. She was still thinking about it on a hot afternoon as she drove to the haunt, early of course, to meet with Mitch. So she hoped.

Ally hurried through the gates that led to the staff area, checking to make sure no one was around. She didn't need a run in with another haunt employee, questioning her running through the corn maze in the daylight hours. Eventually, she'd run out of excuses. Either that, or they'd start to think she was up to no good herself.

Once inside, she relaxed, and slowed her pace to a walk. By the time she reached the set, she was calm. Of course, the rope reminded her of last weekend's events, which didn't help anything, but maybe that would get his attention.

She whirled around for effect, and then paused. "Mitch? Can you hear me?"

Silence.

"Damn this," she muttered. "How does it work?"

Instead of waiting for an answer, she took out the papers she'd gathered, as well as the hand written notes. With a look around her again, she took them over to the tree and began to read through them, the majority of the works talking about emotions and energy.

"I'm here," came his voice.

Ally peered up, resisting a smile. "Way to be fashionably late."

"Is that a _dead_ joke?"

She giggled, "No."

"So, what do you have there?"

She motioned to the papers, "Too much information for me to handle."

"Touché," he murmured. "Anything good?"

Ally hummed as she strummed through a couple of her notes, then nodded. "A few things. Some of them contradict each other, but that's not surprising. A lot of people don't agree on this stuff to begin with. It's sort of like making cookies."

" _Cookies_?" he snorted. "Please do explain."

Ally didn't appreciate his lack of belief, especially considering most people wouldn't even give a voice that she couldn't see the time of day. He should be thankful she wasn't checking herself into a mental home. Instead, she'd spent the last two nights on the internet, trying to piece together information for him. "I was _saying_ ," she stated, giving the air a pointed look, "That it's like cookies. Some people use more salt, some use baking soda instead of powder. It all changes the mixture a little bit, but in the end, it does give you about the same outcome."

"And that is?" There was a pause. "In my case, not the cookies."

Ally grinned, unable to help herself. He reminded her so much of Austin sometimes. "They all agree, at some point or another, that there is a reason you are still here." She flipped the pages back to the front, then glanced around her. "That something is keeping you here; something unfinished."

It was hard to gauge the reaction of someone you could not see, but Ally took Mitch's silence as an answer that he wasn't happy over her story. She leaned back against the tree and studied the branches for a little, waiting for him to come back vocally with her. Then, she heard him sigh. "That doesn't surprise me actually," he murmured. "That's like the number one thing you see when you watch horror movies and shit. It just always seemed like well, a tale. I guess I didn't let that thought cross my mind."

She nodded and looked down at the papers. There was a second half to that reveal. If he had something keeping him there, what was it? Did he have any idea? Ally wasn't sure how to properly convey the next thought in her mind. Austin was the first one to put it there last night, but after lying in bed with the idea in her head, it seemed only plausible that maybe it could be true for Mitch, too.

"I don't want to upset you," she said, keeping her voice level and calm. "But Austin said something to me yesterday about what happened. And it got me thinking…"

"What is that?" Ally hated that he already sounded defeated. What she was about to suggest would only make things worse.

"He thinks that someone tampered with the set," she explained. "Someone had to for it to do what it did." She paused, waiting for some kind of sign. "She said after your death, they looked over the original set up and tried to make sure it was accident proof. I'm not saying that they were one hundred percent able to do that, but Austin seems to think so. He believes someone could have tampered with it."

"That's not surprising," Mitch muttered.

"Yeah?" she asked.

His voice came quietly, "Don't you remember what happened the other day? With Ben?"

"Yeah, I do," she agreed. "I told him that. He refused to believe that Ben would be involved."

"I haven't seen him do anything directly," he defended. "But I'm in and out here; I can't control it. He could've been doing more than just lurking around."

"That terrifies me."

"Me too," he answered. "Mainly because I can see it happen and not do anything to stop it."

"You have me," she pointed out, smiling weakly. "You suspect anything and you tell me. I'll do something. I promise you that."

"Thank you."

Ally sighed, knowing she wasn't done. "There is something else."

" _Fantastic_ ," he muttered. "What?"

"What if… what if that night back then wasn't an accident, Mitch?" She opened her eyes, looking for any sign of him. Defeated, she closed them. "What if this is just history trying to repeat itself?"

Ally didn't have much longer alone with Mitch before she could hear other actors milling around the corn maze. She got up and dusted herself off, closing her notebook and shoving it away in her bag. She'd come back at another time; try to piece things together with Mitch again. She told him to think back to that night, try to remember anything that seemed different. But it was a few years back, and a part of her knew that he probably didn't want to remember it.

Ally soon found Austin. He was in the front of the corn maze, goofing off with Dez over a social media account together. They posed for pictures in their costumes and nearly jumped a mile into the air when Ally came up beside them. He pointed a finger in her direction, rolling his eyes, "You're getting too good at this!"

She giggled, pressing a kiss quickly onto his lips, which earned a giggle from Dez. She resisted the urge to tease him about Trish and focused on her boyfriend instead. Boyfriend? She stopped herself. They never actually agreed to that. They'd been on a couple of dates, had a lot of fun… but nope, never confirmed that they were together. Was that still a thing, or was it assumed they were an item? Ally had no idea. Her dating life wasn't usually this exciting. Hell, her life usually wasn't.

"I've learned from the best," she finally stated. "What can I say?"

"Tell me about that guy," he teased, and she followed him into the corn. She didn't know where he was headed, but she didn't care.

"He's kind of adorable," she proposed first, watching as his ears turned pink. "He's got a heart of gold and a brain that might belong to a zombie." He turned, looking at her with mischievous eyes. "Not like that. I mean, you've got a horror brain."

"Me, huh?"

"Oh please," she laughed and they came up to the set. Ally realized Austin had not been there since the accident and watched as he stared at it, his eyes darkening for a second. "Why are we here? The show doesn't start for hours."

"I wanted to look around," he admitted, dropping her hand. Ally watched him head toward the tree, and she wondered if Mitch was watching too. "Maybe see if I can find anything left behind."

"Would someone trying to hurt you be that careless?" she asked. "I mean, I think they would've been a little more careful."

"Not necessarily," he answered. "People make mistakes."

He searched for a few minutes and Ally walked toward the end of the set, where she usually chased away the group so that they could start over. She kicked some of the dust up from the ground, stopping when she noticed something glimmer beneath her boot. She called Austin over, too shocked to pick up what she'd unveiled with her shoe. Austin had no problems reaching down and picking it up, looking at it with troubled eyes.

It was small, and covered in dust and grime, but it was definitely clear of ownership.

After all, everyone had to carry one on them when they were in costume as a safety precaution to the other actors. People didn't necessarily look the same when in make up. And as he held it up, the metallic band shining in the sun, she saw the name on the front, clearly defining their worst fears. Ben Zachary, it read. It was his work badge. Ben hadn't worked there in over a week, so what was it doing there?

Ally touched his shoulder, bringing his eyes from the small piece of plastic to her. "Do you believe me now?" she whispered. "He could've been the one to tamper with the set."


	6. Chapter 6

**Thank you for the reviews! This is one of my favorite chapters so far because I love a couple of the lines in it. I'm a big fan of witty one-liners and sometimes, they find their way into my stories. It's not often, but it happens. Anyway, this is a long chapter. I won't be posting the next one until this time next week, so you're getting it a little early today, but I wanted to put it up.**

 **Let me know what you think. Enjoy!**

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"

"He still didn't believe you?" Mitch asked the next day, in the mid afternoon, much like usual for them. Ally sighed, looking over her papers. She could feel something next to her, though she couldn't see him, so she knew that her friend's brother was close.

"He didn't say anything," she admitted, shaking her head. Last night had been weird. After they found the badge, Austin had slipped it into his pocket and then pretended like nothing had happened. He walked back to the main area and began to talk to Luna and Trish like he didn't have a huge piece of evidence in his pocket, and even when Ben showed up and expressed his concern for him, Austin seemed fine.

It threw her off completely. Maybe he was afraid and didn't want to point fingers? She didn't know and when she tried to bring it up, he immediately changed the subject. Ally refused to push him, so she went along with it, but that didn't mean the thought left her head. She couldn't sleep the night before because of it, and she was glad that Mitch was just as concerned as she was about what was found.

There was the thought that if he was fixing the set, that he dropped it and didn't know it was missing, but that didn't mean it couldn't be the other way around, either. Right then, they had no solid proof, so she couldn't go and accuse him of anything. Instead, she just had to work with a guy who possibly could've harmed Austin, maybe even Mitch years back. That was what bothered her; what made her skin crawl every time he walked by with that wide smile and bright eyes.

He was alive, looked happy.

One of them was not, and Austin had the scar to prove that he almost joined Mitch.

"Ally?"

"Sorry," she murmured. "A lot on my mind."

"Thanks for doing this," he added. "I know I'm not the only thing you have going on."

"It's not that," she said. "Don't worry about it though." She closed the book, taking a deep breath. "Okay, I need a break. Can we talk about something a little less morbid for a few minutes?"

"Okay. Like what?"

"Tell me about Austin," she giggled. "Things I wouldn't suspect. Or he won't tell me."

"He peed his pants the first time he saw a horror movie." He said this without hesitation and Ally had to smile. That kind of thing was made for secrets, and she was glad she had the opportunity to hear them from someone who cared so much about Austin. "We went to the theater; Austin wanted to see some kind of movie for a bonding brother day deal. He knew I was into horror movies but this was before he was. He was several years younger, and I ran into some friends from school who were going to see one that just came out.

I couldn't even tell you the movie, if I'm honest. I don't remember. I just remember him being stubborn as hell, swearing the kids movie we were going to see was for "babies" and that we had to go see the horror movie instead. So, being the cool, older brother and bad influence I was, I agreed." He laughed, his voice carrying through the corn. "It was only like fifteen minutes in; he peed himself over a jump scare. I couldn't stop laughing and he was so mad about it. Still, it was the first time I ever saw his eyes light up like that in fascination. He seemed just as addicted as I did." He paused. "A few months later, and that was our new thing. Whatever horror movie was out we went to see together. I miss the hell out of that."

Ally smiled the direction his voice came. "I bet it was a lot of fun."

"It was," he agreed. "And it was us time. If I had a girlfriend, she wasn't allowed to come, and Austin couldn't bring anyone either. It was Mitch and Austin time."

"Sounds awesome."

He sighed, "Now our Mitch and Austin time is him monologing at the trees and me wishing whatever this is would work with him."

"We'll figure it out," she answered, now determined again. The book beside her reopened and she looked back in that direction. "So, going off the idea that you're stuck here because something has kept you around, have you got any ideas?"

 **Corn Mazes**

Time flew at the haunted house. By the time Ally exited the corn, people were always milling about. She was quick to find Luna by the main set up area, people surrounding her like usual. She wedged her way in, saying hello to the beautiful girl. This week, her hair was lime green, hot pink, and a neon blue, tied into a ponytail with a clip of a skull. She hugged her like she hadn't seen her in months.

"Hey pretty thing," she greeted. "Excited to scare?"

"Always," she answered. That was the truth. As much as the thought of working there terrified her in the beginning, coming here even without all the drama was some of the best parts of her week. She got to hide behind a mask of a character, let all her problems melt away for a few hours and just enjoy the thrill of an adrenaline rush. There was its downsides, like watching Austin go back into the tree for the first time since the accident last night. She'd seen him pause, look at the rope a second before the thought disappeared and he got into character.

And then of course, there was the owners looking at their group like a band of misfits.

Oh well.

She enjoyed her company.

"I think we—"

Before she could finish her sentence, Austin and Dez came up beside her with a bucket, dumping some sort of paint all over her. For only seconds, Luna was still, the red paint dripping down her white shirt and jeans, coating her like a blanket. Then, she shrieked and stood up, turning around to unleash her fury on the two lanky boys.

Ally was about to giggle, enjoy the show, but Luna grabbed her by the wrist. "Oh no sweetie, you are so going to be involved in this. That blond dork over there is your boy, and you're going to show him what it means to have _hell to pay_!" she yelled, and the boys took that as their cue to run madly in the other direction. Ally shrieked as she was tossed along with her, now covered in paint herself. Soon, as they caught up to the boys surprisingly, the shock wore off and she was giggling too, grabbing Austin into a tight hug and covering him with his own paint.

Luna had tackled the redhead and was on top of him, twisting his arms behind his back while Trish went to find something to extract revenge.

It was only when a voice behind them chuckled did the chills return.

"What the hell are you guys doing?"

Austin saw him first and his arms dropped from Ally's waist, and she knew exactly who the voice belonged to.

Ben.

He smiled ear to ear, like usual and shook his head. "Paint, I presume?"

"You want a part?" Luna asked, wiggling her eyebrows from her spot on top of Dez.

"Help me man!" he yelped. "She weighs like a million pounds!"

"Oh my God," Luna yelled. "Now you're never getting up! Take it back!"

She gripped his arm tightly, giggling manically as he yelped.

"Take it back!"

"Help!" Dez whined. "Help me!"

Ben just laughed. "I'm not dumb enough to get involved there, my friend. You must've done something to deserve this. I'll just be on my way."

"What happened to bros before—?"

"If you even say that, I will literally eat you," Luna threatened.

Dez sulked to the ground. "Fine."

Ally watched as Ben walked away, and she looked at Austin. Despite his attempts to pretend he was fine, she could see everything written on his face. He couldn't hide it if he tried.

"So," she whispered, daring to speak. "You're still going to tell me that we should keep what we found a secret?"

Austin didn't answer her for a while. He had his eyes trained on Ben until he disappeared behind a door, probably to get into whatever character he was playing that night. Finally, he turned to her direction, giving her sad, worried eyes. "I know why you feel the way you do," he stated, his voice quiet. "But I'm not about to accuse a guy of something so horrible without pure, irrefutable evidence. What we think he could've done would not only ruin his career here, but possibly his life, Ally. This isn't some dumb feud. If he is involved, he tried to kill me. That's a real crime."

Ally couldn't stop herself, "And if he _did_ try to kill you? What's going to stop him from doing it again?"

Austin didn't have an answer.

They were whisked away a few minutes later, told to clean up and prepare for the night ahead. Ally left with Luna and Trish, Austin with Dez, which relieved their tension just a bit. She understood and somewhat agreed with Austin's point of view, but if what they suspected was true, that meant that Austin could be in danger at any given second.

It also raised the question to why? Why would someone want to hurt Austin, and if it did go that far back… why Mitch? Ally had no idea, and she feared most of her answers would come from the latter mentioned. Problem with that was Mitch didn't have any answers either. He was coming up with nothing out of the ordinary.

Hopefully, she posed, they were all just overtired and scared from an accident. She tried to think this way as Luna started on her make up, telling her a story about when she and Mitch pulled pranks on each other. Beside them, Trish listened in with a couple other girls, each commenting or giggling when given the chance. It was lackluster and calm, something she greatly needed after such a crazy few days.

Sometime during that, Ben showed back up. He was in full zombie gear for the night, complete with a hanging eye and bone poking through his skull. She cringed away from him and he laughed at her.

"Geez," Luna commented, touching the rubber eye. "That is gross." She laughed. "I love it!"

He smiled at her, leaning forward. "Thanks. While we can't all be horror royalty, I try."

"Oh please," she teased, poking his torn shirt. A part of his chest was showing, covered in blood and guts. "You've been here almost as long as I have. You can be my horror prince."

He bowed, taking all he could from her. Ally noticed just how smitten he was in those few moments, despite all the make up. And as he spoke, she just hoped they were wrong. Ben seemed like a decent enough guy, but didn't most at the beginning of horror movies? She'd taken up to watching a few without Austin over the last week, try to pick up things from them.

"I take that honor and will do my best to live up to it," he crowed.

"You're a zombie," she deadpanned.

He clapped his dirt-covered hands. "I'll do my best to be undead to it!"

"Moron," she said affectionately as he walked away, looking back at Ally. "Alright. Time to make you bloody."

Through the night, everything had a much better atmosphere than the last week. Luna was literally on her best game, and Austin's mood had improved greatly from both the accident and his weariness over the whole situation with Ben. She was glad for this; it was much easier to get into scare mode when there was nothing else on her mind. It didn't help that Ben was also in the corn that night, a few jumps in front of them. She could hear his creepy voice from time to time, screaming at the fans, and for some reason, it scared her less than his real voice.

Still, the group pushed on… Austin had no problem being in the tree, and Joe kept a watchful eye on him just in case anything could happen in those few seconds. Ally focused her energy on scaring anyone who came her direction. The thrill behind it was still a mega rush for her. She still could not believe she was doing this, and doing it well. Trish mocked her once in a while, telling her that she never trusted her, and that she was always right.

Ally wasn't sure if she believed that, but she was definitely grateful for the opportunity to be here, even if it meant she had to deal with a mystery that was in over her head most of the time. Ally wouldn't change meeting Austin for the world.

She just cared for him too much.

And Mitch now, too.

By the time they were giving the call for last group, she was sweaty and sticky, exhausted but still smiling. The adrenaline rush didn't wear off until hours after the doors closed, usually when she was in her bed and smiling about how great the night had been. It also helped that the last group made her all the more ready to prove she was good at this, giving them all she had left for the night, making sure they left with their hearts racing and their throats sore. As her ears rung after they ran away, she knew she'd done her job.

She walked over to the tree, grinning ear to ear at Austin, who was slowly lowering himself to the ground.

She wrapped her arms around him the second his feet were on the dirt.

"You are incredible," she whispered into his ear. "Have I mentioned that lately?"

He turned to face her, smiling weakly back at her. "Me? Have you looked in the mirror?"

"Disgusting," Ben crowed, coming up beside them. He playfully shoved Austin's shoulder and Austin went after him, chasing him through the corn until they were on the dirt, covered in dust and grime, howling at each other like wild animals. She glanced at Joe, who only shook his head, taking the mask he wore off.

"They're like children," she muttered. "Bloody and dirty children."

"Sounds about right," he answered.

Ally smiled, "You were great tonight."

"You too," he answered a second time, giving her a tiny smile. "You've really come into your role."

"Thank you."

Together, they walked up to the other two boys, and a part of her was relieved that Austin was acting more normal around Ben. Maybe they were wrong and all of this would just go away. As much as Austin thought it couldn't be an accident, stranger things have happened. They could all just be over tired and a bit over imaginative, and that was that. Ally leaned against the fence of the maze, looking at the boys from a distance. Everything would work itself out, she thought. It had to.

The worst part of the haunt was always after, trying to get the paint and costumes off. The more blood you wore, the more time you spent behind the scenes in the bathrooms with powerful paint removers and steamy showers. Ally was lucky that she mainly just had dirt and grime covering her, unlike Luna and Austin who were drenched usually head to toe in the fake blood. Still, she didn't want to head home without saying goodbye to either of them, despite the fact that Trish had left a few minutes ago with Dez.

"Ally," Luna called. "Can you pass me the clothes I threw over by the door?"

"Sure!" she answered, walking them over. The girl smiled at her from the changing area.

"Ally?" Austin asked this time. "Why don't you head toward the parking lot? I'll be there in a second. I just need to find where I put my bag."

"Are you sure? I'll wait."

"No, I'll catch up," he insisted. "I promise."

"Alright. Are we still meeting up at my house?"

"Yep," he smiled, poking his head out from behind another changing room. "Be right there."

She nodded, gathering her things and walking out the door. By the sets, everything always looked creepier at night when no one was really around and most of the others had gone home. The corn always had a shuffling sound coming from it, results of the wind blowing it back and forth. She waved briefly that direction, wishing Mitch a good night mentally, and then crossed the distance from the waiting area to the main employee parking. It was a bit of a walk, since they wanted the employees away from the customers. Everything was kept hush-hush for the sake of protecting the illusion.

Ally pulled out her phone, texting Trish that she had plans with Austin that night. She giggled, exiting the main area and heading onto the road, as her friend replied with less than innocent emojis.

That's when she heard something behind her.

Or, so she thought.

Stopping, she glanced beyond her, looking toward the wooded area and the haunt. No one was around. It was probably just an animal, she reasoned, and went back to her phone.

Then, she heard footsteps.

She whirled around a second time, sure it was human, looking for any source of information or someone walking toward her. "Austin?" she called out. "Is that you?"

Silence.

Maybe it was Mitch? "Mitch?" she whispered quietly. "I thought you couldn't get off the corn maze."

Nothing.

"Hello?"

Then, she noticed a hooded figure with a clown mask on coming her way. Her first instinct was no longer to run, but instead to wait to see who it was. She rolled her eyes, figuring it was Austin. Until he got closer and she noticed he was a little taller than him, and was running at her like he was trying to tackle her or something. "Austin?" she asked. "What are you…?"

She trailed off when she saw the knife. There was a distinctive difference in a prop knife from the haunt, and a real one. And Ally had learned the differences early on.

"That's not funny," she called out to whoever it was. "Stop!"

They didn't. Ally darted out of the way with only seconds to spare, sending the hooded person tumbling past her, grunting to the ground. Something inside of her snapped, whether it be the real instinct to be afraid, or the fact that the hooded figure stood right back up and rounded back her direction, somehow giving off a stance that seemed more terrifying than before. Ally gasped, looking toward the employee parking lot. It had to be another thirty feet away.

And then she ran. She was not a fast runner by any means, and she wished in those moments that she was. She could hear the heavy footsteps gaining on her from behind her, and she wondered again if maybe someone was playing a sick joke. Something in the pit of her stomach said otherwise, and she willed herself forward, closing her eyes momentarily so that she didn't have to see anything that came.

That's when someone tackled her to the ground, sending her face first into the dirt.

She started to plead with them, beg them to stop.

A familiar voice was screaming at her, "Ally, calm down! Ally! It's me, Austin! Ally!"

She stopped thrashing, whirling her body around to see Austin in a pair of jeans and a t shirt. She pushed him off of her, glaring at him. "Why would you do that?"

"Do what?" he asked, wild eyed and panting. "I heard you screaming!"

"I was not!" she called back, starting to cry. "You were chasing me in that stupid mask! You had a knife… are you out of your mind? That's not funny!"

Austin's face completely changed and it went from worry to pure anger within seconds. He glanced around him, whirling in circles for any sign of people. "Ally," he finally whispered, his voice level with severity. "I swear to God, I did not chase you. I could hear you screaming all the way from the haunt. I didn't see anyone else, I swear."

She sniffled, calming down as he wrapped his arms around her, holding her close. "There was someone. They came at me with a knife. A real one. I'm sure of it. I asked them to stop and they tried to chase me again. I started to run, I was sure when you grabbed me that you were them. I'm sorry."

"Did you see their face?"

She shook her head, "No, I told you. They were wearing some creepy clown mask from the haunt."

He seemed to still, if only for a second. "I'm so sorry, Ally. I should've never asked you to walk to your car alone. It's late."

"It's okay," she sniffled.

"No, it's not," he answered. "It won't happen again."

She sighed, feeling safe in his arms. Finally, they broke their embrace and she headed toward her car, ready to head home and sleep away her fears. It was only when she got to the driver's side door did she see it, and for the second time in only a few minutes, she started to scream. Austin raced over, by her side in seconds. She looked his direction, seeing the color drain from every part of his face.

She shook her head, "I told you something wasn't right. Someone is trying to hurt us."

On the windshield, a ripped piece of paper flapped in the wind.

Written, in blocky handwriting, were four words.

 _Mind your own business._


	7. Chapter 7

**Thank you for the reviews! I loved writing this chapter, and I'm super excited to post the last few because horror is such a fun, interesting thing for me to write. I think you'll like where this ends up. Also, I'm going to my local haunt in just three days, and I'm SO excited. I can't wait to scream my butt off.**

 **Remember, these are what the characters in the story sort of look like:  
Luna (Kelsea Ballerini but with colorful hair)  
Ben - a younger Zac Hanson (about 2005-07)  
Mitch - Caleb Ruminer.  
Joe - I have a guy who I think he looks like, but he's in a local band so I feel kind of weird posting his name haha.**

 **Let me know what you think. Enjoy!**

* * *

They ended up spending the night at Austin's, Ally too afraid to go home and sleep by herself. The thought of sleeping over at his place should have excited her, make her want to text Trish and gab about how awesome it would be. Instead, she was cowering on his bed, in one of his sweatshirts, holding the ripped paper in her hands. Austin, who since arriving home, paced back and forth in front of her, clearly unsure what to do himself.

She didn't have any answers.

"We have to tell someone," he finally reasoned, looking her direction. She clasped the paper harder, still afraid to move. "This isn't a guess anymore, you know? Someone tried to hurt you tonight and that note proves it. We don't know who though."

"We have a suspect," she reminded him quietly.

He shrugged, "We still don't have enough evidence to prove it is Ben. We just know someone is angry with you. Which, I don't understand. It isn't like we've been vocal about our concerns with the set possibly malfunctioning. You haven't spoken to anyone about it, right?"

She froze in bed, unsure how to answer him. She made a promise to Mitch at the haunt that she wouldn't tell his brother anything about what she was doing. But if someone was lurking, watching her, it was more than likely they knew she was in there, and either thought she was crazy, or was aware that she was dealing with Mitch. The thought alone made her shiver, realizing that she'd probably been in danger all along.

Still, she couldn't exactly tell Austin this. Her heart told her to remain loyal. Besides, it probably wouldn't be the best idea to reveal that she was in contact with his dead brother. How would she even explain that? Austin would truly think she was nuts, wouldn't he?

"Ally?"

She shook her head, "No, I haven't said anything to anyone."

"Then this is weird. There is no reason to involve you in this, at all."

Oh, but there is, she thought numbly. Somehow, she had to make it back to Mitch and tell him what happened, but the idea of being alone at the haunt at all now was terrifying. This was getting way in over her head.

"Are we sure that someone wasn't trying to be funny?"

He glared at her, his eyes proving her question had no merit. "Someone pulled a knife on you, Ally. That's not being funny. That proves someone is fucking crazy."

"Who do we tell?" she asked. "Jim? He already thinks we're insane for doing the set."

"It's not safe," he sighed. "As much as I don't want to admit that, we're putting people in danger by not telling him."

Ally panicked internally. If they shut down the haunt completely, she would not be able to help Mitch, and she couldn't do that to him. It went against everything she'd stood for in the last couple of days to argue it, though. Austin wouldn't understand, and she wasn't sure how long she could make him wait before he decided to tell his boss.

Mitch was still at odds about all of it. Ally had last spoken to him that afternoon and asked him to remember anyone from the set back then, or at the haunt, who still worked there today. She'd secretly gotten a master list of employees and ran over the names with him. So far, they had a group of about twenty people who worked both years. That list included Ben. Because Ben was also interested in Luna, Mitch also agreed that he was their number one suspect. Still, he'd reasoned, Ben never showed interest in her years back. At least, not that he remembered. Like Austin, he didn't want to point fingers unless absolutely sure. Accusing someone of murder was a hefty threat.

Ally groaned.

"This is horrible."

"I don't want to shut the haunt down," Austin finally whispered. "Please don't hate me."

She was relieved, actually, but she wasn't about to admit that. "I'm not sure if it's the best idea," she said carefully, "but I understand where you're coming from."

"What do you suggest?"

Ally thought for a moment, finally putting down the creepy paper. She tossed his covers off, leaning over the side of the bed. "We have someone else we can go to. Not exactly our boss, but someone who will listen to us, and give us a chance to figure this out ourselves first."

Austin's lips curved into a smile. "Luna."

Sunday came fast, and because she spent the night with Austin, she wasn't able to sneak away and talk to Mitch that afternoon. Instead, she spent the day with Austin at his house (and thankfully his parents were away, which made it so much easier), trying to come up with a plan on how to tell Luna what they suspected, as well as just enjoying each other's company. Because Ally was still in school, and Austin was secretly at the haunt, they didn't get to see each other that often during the week. She was learning to cherish the days and times they got to be together.

By the time it was time to leave for the haunt, their day had been spent watching a horror movie (there was something calming about watching other people run for their lives, Ally noticed), and done a lot of making out which she couldn't wait to tell Trish about.

They drove in separate cars to the haunt, giving Ally time to think. She was upset that she couldn't meet with Mitch and tell him what happened, but she hoped there would be a few seconds between sets tonight to explain, or at least he could overhear it when she spoke of it with Austin. When he was around, she was never sure how close Mitch was. He wasn't exactly revealing himself to Ally these days (after another moment of her almost outing him when he poked her), so she never knew when he was listening in. He'd probably be mad not to hear it from her first, but sometimes things just didn't work out the way people wanted.

When she got to the haunt, it was already busy with employees. She parked her car closest to Austin this time, making sure her doors were locked and that she had pepper spray on her in case for any reason she was alone that night. Austin had swore to her early that morning she'd never walk to her car alone again, but he wanted her safe in case she had any problems anyway. She appreciated that. As much as her life was crazy these days, Austin was something constant and reassuring and she was thankful for him.

"Ally!" Trish commented, seeing her walk in with Austin. "You left off with some very suggestive texts last night, and I am very appalled to be your best friend right now, because you just walked into that haunt hand in hand with Austin."

Ally rolled her eyes, "Relax, Trish. But yes, I spent the night with Austin last night."

"And?" her friend shrieked. "Give me all the dirty details!"

She rolled her eyes a second time. She couldn't tell Trish what happened yet. The more people she told, the more she ran the risk of alerting Ben that they were onto him. People talked, gossiped and lips were never sealed. So, as far as Trish was concerned, Ally was getting down and dirty with an attractive blond male. "There weren't any. We spent the night making out, but that's as hot as it gets."

"You are so boring," Trish complained.

Ally smiled sarcastically, "Sorry, Trish. Have you seen Luna?"

"Yeah, she's with Joe over there. He was asking about make up."

"Oh," she answered, looking the direction she pointed. "Thanks. I'll catch up with you in a bit. I have to ask her a question."

"Alright," Trish answered. "And remember, Ally… next time, dirty!"

Ally was trying to make her face return to it's normal color following Trish's shouted comment. She was relieved to see Austin was already with Luna, looking a little apprehensive himself. Joe, like Trish mentioned, was hanging out with the two of them, and she was showing him how to apply make up to a portion of his body. Luna grinned, motioning her over, "Come here, Ally. You can learn this too."

The girl walked up and watched as her friend began to use different colors to form a realistic looking stain on his lower arm, marveling in how talented she truly was. Luna usually had her make up done for her, but apparently she could also apply it five star as well. As if she sensed this, she said to Ally, "When I first started, I helped out on the make up team a lot. I learned so many tricks. Joe wanted to make his costume a little more grungy, so I thought I could show him a few things."

"Thanks, Luna," he said, standing up. "I actually need to go talk to Jim about a day next week. I might be a little late. I'll see you guys later."

Relieved to see him leave, Ally looked to Austin, who briefly nodded his head. It was now or never.

"Luna?" Austin started, his voice so unlike him. Unsure and scared was not a trait Ally liked seeing on her daredevil lover.

"Yeah?" she asked, preoccupied with the make up bag she held, trying to zip it closed. "What's up?"

"Ally and I need to talk to you," he insisted.

She dropped the bag, looking at the both of them. "That sounds serious," she answered.

"It is."

"Okay, what's up?"

She let Austin do most of the talking, explaining the events that she told him of (which actually were only a couple of everything she'd learned in the last few weeks), and watched both of their reactions to what was said. She was surprised by the silence when Austin finished, leaning against a chair. He too didn't seem to like her reaction. Finally, she just shook her head.

"I refuse to believe that Ben could be involved with something like this."

"You don't believe us?" Ally couldn't help but demand, hurt lacing her voice. Luna was the one person, other than Austin, who she trusted in the haunt with all her heart. She didn't want their thoughts to go directly dismissed in her eyes.

"I didn't say that," she said back, her voice just as quiet. She looked toward the door, where a bunch of the cast, Ben included, were hanging out. He happened to look their way, as if he knew they were talking about him. That big grin came on his face, and he waved madly at Luna like some sort of love-sick puppy. She rolled her eyes, turning back toward them. "How could you even think someone as goofy as that has a sinister bone in his body? He's harmless. Trust me."

"Then who?" Austin fired off, suddenly angrier than what he came off as. "I am telling you, I saw Ally after she was chased. Someone is trying to hurt us, and it's someone here. It has to be someone who has worked for the haunt before. He's the one who has been in the corn mazes without any reason, and he's also the one who has the means."

"What does that mean?"

"Luna, he clearly adores you. Maybe he was jealous of your relationship with my brother."

She threw her hands up in the air. "Austin! That's insane. Yes, I do think Ben likes me. But are you seriously throwing it out there that he would murder for me? To hurt someone who I cared so much about? Think about that for a second. Think about how severe of a accusation that is."

"Don't you think we have?" Ally dared to speak up. "We didn't want to come to you until we were sure. But there is no other suspect, and I'm telling you, he gives me a weird feeling."

"I like Ben," she said, quiet for nearly a minute after she said that. "I like Ben a lot." She looked to Austin, seemingly apologetic. "He's the first person I have truly cared about since Mitch died, Austin. He cares for me, and he's aware of just how fragile I am outside of this haunt, and he doesn't care. I'm not naïve, and I've seen just as many horror movies as you have to know the clichés and the thoughts behind who is usually behind it. But I'm telling you, from my gut, that he's not doing this. Trust me on that."

Austin stewed for a minute, and then looked at Ally. He seemed torn.

Ally sighed, "Then what? What do we do?"

She also sighed, coming over so that they were in a circle. "We keep an eye on each other. I'm telling you what I think, and I hope you consider it. Until we have actual proof, other than a piece of paper, and one person's testimony to an event, we can't do much. I'm not ready to put anyone in jail without absolute proof."

She walked off, and Ally sat down on the chair she'd been leaning against.

"So pretty much, we're in the same place that we were before."

He nodded. "Pretty much."

Somewhere out of sight, someone lurked, having heard the last few minutes of the group's conversation. They had single-handedly made the entire situation worse without knowing it.

The night went off without a hitch. Ally thought it might've been the biggest crowd yet—it seemed as if the groups never stopped coming, and she also felt more connected with Austin and Joe than ever before. It also helped that Joe was larger than both herself and Austin, giving an easier mentality to running from a guy who she knew was harmless.

By the time they were given the signal to clean up, she was bouncing up and down, too much adrenaline than she knew what to do with. She helped Austin down, and quickly snuck away with him, so that they could have a little alone time before everyone came together for the end of night festivities. Even in costume and filthy, she couldn't keep her hands off him. The hormones were a nice escape from their reality.

"We should get back," he admitted, breaking free of her kiss. She pouted, and he laughed, "We can resume this at my place, or yours. Whatever. But I don't want to give anyone a reason to come looking for us out here, especially someone who doesn't have good intentions."

"Fair enough," she muttered, hating that it was even a thought. A part of her wanted to believe that maybe they just had overactive imaginations and that this was all in their heads. No one was out to get them, Austin's mishap had been an accident, and Mitch's too. But she wasn't an idiot, she wasn't naïve, and she knew enough to realize that little voice in her head was wrong. It was simply the task of figuring out who, and why, before it was too late and someone else got hurt.

She glanced a final time toward the maze as she and Austin exited it, hand in hand. Hopefully Mitch could sense her apprehension and fear, and would understand what it meant for them. He still had no idea what happened the night before with the note, and she knew when he discovered it, she was in for a mouthful.

"I'm going to shower before we leave," Ally said, taking her hair out of the ponytail, while pulling off the costume she wore to reveal a pair of booty shorts and a tank top. He ogled at her and she snorted, rolling her eyes. "Please don't go far, okay?"

"I won't," he promised, kissing her. "I'll be right in the other room."

The bathroom areas were divided for male and females, and Ally quickly ran into the woman's section, seeing that it was mainly empty, with the exception of Luna who happened to be in front of the mirror, scrubbing furiously at her skin. She groaned, seeing Ally at the side and laughed, shaking her head. "I am getting a costume next year that covers all of my skin. I hate scrubbing my body for hours after." She looked down at her used napkins and sponges, shaking her head. "I'm going to grab a couple more towels and clean up stuff from the supply closet next door. Do you need anything? I know you don't have much to get off, but I don't know how clean those towels above you are," she laughed, pointing at the ones folded near her. "I wouldn't use them."

"Yeah," she grinned. "That would be great."

Luna left with a smile, and Ally began to scrub off what she could from her face with her bare hands. Beyond her, something creaked.

Her nerves immediately came to the surface. "Luna?"

Silence.

Ally whirled around, feeling a sense of déjà vu. She went forward, toward the stalls to see if anyone was in them. Slowly, she reached forward and opened the first one, revealing it to be empty. Her heart hammered in her chest, going to the next before finding it empty. She was at the last stall, which was completely closed when a scream rang out, a familiar one that she recognized as Luna's. It rang through the woman's room and apparently the men's too, because both Ally and Austin were at the door within seconds, finding it locked. Luna was on the other side, banging on it.

"Damn it! Someone open the door!"

They weren't looking to let her out anymore, though. Instead, they were transfixed on the note, in the same paper as the one on Ally's car, stuck in the door with a knife. If Ally wasn't mistaken, the same one that she'd seen the masked figure use when they chased her. Ally looked at Austin, who carefully pulled the knife down with the note. This time, it was written in some sort of red marker. It sent chills down her spine.

If it wasn't for Luna banging on it another time, she wouldn't probably have remembered she was inside. "Hello! I know someone can hear me! This isn't funny!"

Austin told her to back up, and then rammed his shoulder into the door, making it swing open after a couple of tries. She came running out, shaking her head angrily.

"What he do to you?" Ally asked, fearfully.

Luna laughed, shaking her head. "Nothing. I told him I'd kill him if he hopped any closer."

She didn't understand.

"You screamed," she reminded the girl.

Luna looked at her like she was an idiot, pointing to a huge spider seated on their towels. "Yeah, because of that big ass spider the size of my hamster. I only banged on the door because I must've jammed it somehow."

"No," Austin said, darkly. "You didn't."

"What?" she asked, clearly missing the point.

Ally touched her shoulder gently, "Look at this."

She showed Luna the note, who immediately lost about five shades of her skin tone.

"Where did you get this?"

"It was on the door," Ally said, as they walked back into the woman's bathroom, Austin with them. "Do you believe us now that something isn't right here?"

"I never doubted you," she said quietly as a reminder, but then added, "Now I just know for sure that I'm somehow involved in all of it."

Ally nodded, looking down at the note. It read:

 **Next time, this knife won't be in the paper. Loose lips don't sink ships; they end up lifeless and blue… shut them, or I'm going to kill you.**

The group huddled over the note, all staring at it with worried eyes. No one noticed the last stall in the corner was no longer closed; instead it swung open, with no one inside.


	8. Chapter 8

**Thank you for the reviews! I am so sorry! Life has kicked my ass as of late, but I promise you, this story will be finished by Halloween. You can expect an update every day leading into the holiday! I am so excited myself - I have been promised "special treatment" at my local haunt and the promise to skip the line this Friday, and I am SO pumped. They're being really good to me and my friends, and though I wish I made it to the haunt more than twice this year, I'm just really thankful for them being this awesome.**

 **Also, this is entirely a flashback chapter.**

 **Let me know what you think. Enjoy!**

* * *

Three Years Previous

"This set is incredible," Luna breathed, taking in the newly designed, and debuting set before her, running her hands over the platform beyond it, studying the hard work put into the display. Beside her, stood several others who worked with her, including her good friend Mitch Moon, Joe Reynolds, Ben Zachary, and a couple others she wasn't too familiar with. She leaned on Mitch, poking his side.

"Yes?"

"You are going to _kill_ this set," she told him. "I can't wait to _scream_ beside you."

"So _corny_ ," he teased, pulling on her ponytail with a grin, earning a dirty look from the blonde girl. "Thanks, though. Me and Ben put in a lot of work with this. I'm glad it turned out how it did. I can't wait to start tonight. Can you believe it's been another year? I missed this place a ton." He laughed, shaking his head. "My brother is begging me to work here, too. He's too young. Maybe someday."

"I'm sure he will," she giggled back. "You are a bad influence after all."

"You two need a room," Ben huffed, crossing his arms. "Just get together already."

Luna chuckled, not noticing that her friend's ears had turned pink and he was glaring at the other male. The young brunette just shrugged his shoulders and nudged the blond.

"Oh, Ben. It's okay. You're just jealous of how awesome we are."

"Or how disgusting," Ben chirped, grabbing Joe's arm. "Come on man, let's let them christen the set. We can get ready in the meantime."

Luna this time blushed, "Good God. Ben."

They were left alone and Luna relaxed against the tree, watching as Mitch set up for the set. She enjoyed watching him work, he had such a passion for this job, something some of the others lacked. You could easily scare someone by jumping out from behind an object but to actually scare someone, to be the person they think about when they get home that night and remember, was a difficult task. Mitch excelled at it, and thanks to him, she was learning herself.

"After this is over, we should definitely keep hanging out," Luna said quietly, hoping he wouldn't freak out too much. She did like the boy; he was attractive, twisted, and hilarious, but she wanted him to be the one to instigate their relationship. For a guy so obsessed with horror, he was afraid of her, and she couldn't figure out why. Hint after hint, he never took the bait.

He turned around, smiling shyly. "If that's what you want."

"For sure," she smiled. "If you want to."

"Oh, definitely," he said hurriedly, grabbing her arm. "Come on. We have to get to the front."

Luna sighed. Once again, he avoided the actual thought.

 _Corn Mazes_

The first few weeks with the new set went better than anyone could have hoped. Within the first few days, people were posting reviews on their website, boasting about how great the corn maze was, and that the actors in their particular section were phenomenal. It made her boss absolutely thrilled. They were told to always work together, and find a way to make the set even bigger. Luna couldn't help but grin every time she came into work—Mitch was eating this up, and he was almost always talking about it.

She loved it.

Because it was everything he wasn't when it came to them. He was open and proud, bragging and terrifying. Somehow, she knew she found her match in the odd blond who hung from a rope for a living.

She just wished that it wasn't like this.

"Luna, you play a terrified girl," he laughed when she came up to him a few hours before the set was to come alive. "Not a zombie. What's with the face?"

"Nothing," she assured him, silently cursing. She grinned ear to ear for affect, glad that his mind was almost always on the set these days, so he didn't notice. "I'm just thinking myself on how we could improve it."

Mitch grinned, poking her. "Atta girl. Now, watch this." He climbed up onto the display, showing her a few things along the way. He then slipped into the harness and the neck-tie, swinging back and forth. She grinned, seeing the improvements herself, without him even having to show her, when his smile faded quickly and he began to choke on the rope. The expression literally sent her heart into her throat and she rushed over, watching as he silently pleaded with her for help. No. No! The set couldn't do this. He was sure of everything when he put it together—but now her friend, maybe more, was hanging… literally!

She panicked.

Luna didn't panic often, but she panicked.

She was about to scream for help when she looked back at him and noticed he was smiling.

Then, he kicked off something, and began to laugh which for a moment confused her. And then, it hit her. Luna was furious, waiting for him to get off the harness before she went over and smacked him hard over the head with her hands. He lurked away ad she shrieked, "Are you crazy? That isn't funny! I thought you were actually stuck."

"Oh, relax," he chuckled. "You would've done the same to me! Besides, you should've seen your face! It was hysterical. I'm ashamed to know that you are supposed to be on my level."

She pouted, still a bit angry, but also knew that she probably would've done the same to him. She folded her arms, turning away. "I'm mad at you."

"Oh, please."

"What's going on?" came a voice, and she turned to see Joe heading their direction.

Luna rolled her eyes, shaking her head. "Mitch just pretended he was actually hung—scared me half to death!"

"Asshole," Joe commented, also rolling his eyes.

Mitch just shrugged, eyes gleaming with trickery. It was what he lived for, after all.

He came up beside her and bravely pressed a kiss on her cheek. "You love me."

She turned around, giving him a weak smile. "Unfortunately."

 _Corn Mazes_

Luna loved her job more than anything in the world. But she also loved working with people she adored, of course one of those being Mitch. That night, as they were given the signal to stay in place, the first groups were being let in, she couldn't stop looking at him. Luna did not pine. She never wanted to be that kind of girl. But she adored the odd blond next to her, climbing into the tree to get ready. He grinned down at her, ear to ear, with that dorky, loving smile she missed so much. He had no idea what the next hour held, and in his mind, he was to complete the task of scaring several hundred people, and then head to the nightly after haunt dinner at the near by chain restaurant.

He would never make it there.

It started out normally. The haunt was a bit slow at first, the head start line not as long. The groups came in small bunches, with Luna having to work to get a couple to scream. Some were just not scareable. If she thought back to that night, she wondered if any of those groups would think otherwise if they knew what really happened after they left. Still, it was only a half hour in and she was sure she already had a bruise or two from a couple easily excitable fans who nailed her when she jumped out on them.

The other day, a guy who worked in the house, Nick had been nailed square in the face by some teenage guy. His black eye was a natural addition to his scare factor, butut didn't mean that he enjoyed the thought of it. In fact, he had to go to the ER after the last group came through, their boss worried that it could've injured his eye more than he thought.

That was their biggest fears leading into the week. Bruises and cuts. Nothing that didn't heal over the course of the next week, so that by the time the next weekend rolled around, everyone was good as new.

Too bad that was not always the case.

She remembered the last group before it happened. It was relatively large, about ten people, and half of them were huddled into each other, proving just who would be the easiest to scare. Luna herself was not someone who went for the easy people. Those you could bet would freak out if you even just stared at them. She went for those who the scared ones were holding onto, eerily edging her way into their group. Sometimes she could get a few of them. Sometimes they were just as good actors as she was.

The ones she did succeed in scaring made her night. It was something else to scare someone who thought they were good in the haunt. It was even better when she saw the reviews on the website that told her she was one of the scariest in the maze!

Still, she also remembered the group because of something else. One of the guys, having looked right past her and onto the full set, where Mitch pleaded with them, made a comment that would later sit with her for months, almost years to come. He nudged his friend, pointing to the tree. "Sick set, man. Imagine if he accidentally got caught up there? How would anyone know?"

Literally, five minutes later, the unthinkable happened. She had chased the group after that one into the next set, screaming into a girl with more tattoos than she'd ever seen before's ear until she ran full-fledge to the front of the group. Snickering, she headed back over to her post, giving Mitch a wide grin of her own, and a thumbs up. He did the same, and Joe followed. They had such a great little group, she thought she'd found her blood-riddled paradise.

The next group came through. It was a group of four girls and two guys, all looking relatively easy to scare. She got up in their faces, half of them running before she could even turn it up a notch. The other half were transfixed on the set behind her. A part of her wanted to break character at the look of horror in their eyes, say, "Isn't he a fantastic actor? I freakin' love this part" and freak out with them, but somehow, when they didn't move, and instead pointed, she knew something had to of been wrong.

Mitch had stopped screaming, which was unlike him when there was still customers around. Joe had gone after the first half of the group with the chainsaw, and she could hear him making his way back for the second round. Somewhere ahead of them, Ben would be with one of the new guys, doing jump scares on them once they were done. She turned, wondering what could've caught his attention enough to make him stop screaming.

Instead, what she saw made her heart stop. Only for a second, though. She assumed, watching him hang there lifeless that he figured it would be a better scare, if he "died" in the middle of the haunt, alerting those around him that this was their next fate. The girls stumbled off, completely freaked, and Luna clapped softly, shaking her head. "Damn boy, you are something else," she laughed. "God. Isn't he fantastic, Joe?"

Joe came up beside her, and they both waited for him to break the character.

"Alright, Mitch, give it up," she laughed. "This isn't funny."

"Mitch? Bro, come on. Luna has had enough of your games today."

"Mitch," she muttered, coming closer. Somehow, he seemed even more still than before. It was only when she got to the fence area, did she notice his lips were blue. Luna screamed, just as the group after showed up, and she hopped the fence over, trying desperately to somehow get him down though he was hoisted nearly fifteen feet in the area. She turned around to Joe, who was staring just as creeped as she was, and demanded he release the lever behind the tree. The girls in the next group looked a little confused, but played along. They leered away from Joe, as he dropped his chainsaw and hurried to the side, probably wondering what kind of set this was.

One of the girls mumbled about going forward, and they were left alone.

Luna screamed the safe word on top of her lungs, somehow praying she was wrong and that Mitch was still doing some sort of elaborate prank that would shave ten years off her life. At the sound of the word though, others hurried over, and Ben was the first one to her side, helping her lower his body to the ground. She shuddered over and over again when she realized just how tight the rope was around his neck. She loosened it with the help of Ben's blade, and put her fingers to his neck.

She felt nothing.

Luna screamed a second time, out of fear, true fear, and demanded that someone called 911. All of their phones were in the dressing area, and someone rushed off to make the call. Maybe they'd find a group along the way who would have enough sense to know it wasn't a game anymore.

"Mitch?" she sobbed, losing control of her own thoughts. Ben pushed her out of the way and immediately began CPR, even mouth to mouth on the younger male next to him. This went on for several minutes, Ben working tirelessly even when their bosses showed up, and until the EMTs arrived and pronounced him dead a few minutes later.

Luna had backed up at some point, watching as the men worked on setting him on a gurney. A part of her still wanted to believe that his eyes would pop open and he'd smile wildly at all of them, yell surprise and pretend it didn't happen. Instead, she was in the very corner of their set, trying to hold herself together and keep from sobbing. Ben came up to her first, putting his arms around her. She burrowed her face into his shirt, unable to believe this grand set they'd concocted could do something so horrible.

Soon, Joe joined the group and they somberly watched until it was only management left, and a couple other haunt workers. Jim came up beside her, giving her a look of sympathy and a bit of one of horror.

"I have to call his family," he whispered. "Before news breaks out."

"Oh my God," she moaned, thinking about his parents, who she had met on occasion. About his little brother, Austin, who was a smaller version of him, if only by three years. He was barely fifteen, still too young to work at the haunt, but nipping at Mitch's heels for the signed waiver he could get next year so that he could work there. What would she tell him? He practically idolized his brother; he was his best friend. Luna had no idea how you even tell someone that. How could you be the one to shatter someone's entire world?

Somehow, she knew it had to be her. No one else would understand the magnitude.

"Let me tell his brother," she pleaded hoarsely. "Please."

Jim nodded. "Everyone is free to go. The cops want to speak to me for a bit, and probably you guys too, but I'll hold them off for tonight."

"Thank you," she whispered.

She glanced at the other two boys. "I'll see you guys around."

"Text me later," Ben and Joe said at the same time. "So that I know you got home safe," Ben added. "Drive careful."

"Thank you," she whispered a second time.

As she walked through the corn, it swaying back and forth in the cool air, she closed her eyes, trying to see the smile that she loved of his so much. Instead, all she saw was his lifeless body hanging there, forever preserved as the last memory she'd have of him.


	9. Chapter 9

**Thank you for the reviews! As promised, the next chapter. Two to go! Are you excited? The next chapter is... well, huge. Duh. I hope you're ready for it.**

 **Let me know what you think. Enjoy!**

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"I need you to do me a favor," Mitch said the afternoon of the night before Halloween. Ally had arrived extra early, as it was also an early meeting day for the cast. The revenue made on these two nights far exceeded anything else the haunt did during the month; everything had to be perfect, everyone had to be on the top of their game. But that didn't mean that Ally wasn't going to at least attempt to help Mitch… yeah, they hadn't gotten very far still, but she was not giving up. She owed him that much.

"Yeah?" she finally answered, lost in her own thoughts and research. She thought if she kept staring at it, reading over the information until her eyes bled, maybe something would finally click.

"It's an odd request," he added, as if whatever he were to say was about to make her run from the corn and not come back.

Ally closed her notebook, "Mitch, you're scaring me."

"Is that another ghost joke?" he asked.

Ally glared in the general direction of the voice. "No. Stop changing the subject."

He sighed, and she felt his pain. It wasn't often that she did, but when he showcased it, she always wanted to tear open the book and not stop. He didn't deserve what happened to him, and somehow, she knew she was not going to rest until she helped him in some way. The only problem with that was the timing. The haunt closed in two days, after all. Maybe she should tell Austin… or Luna. They liked scary things; they'd believe her, right? Two or three heads were better than one. But she promised the boy around her, and she knew she couldn't break that.

"I want to see a recent picture of Luna. I know you probably have tons, but could you take one today and maybe get it blown up before tomorrow? Like, tape it somewhere inconspicuous so that I can look at it from time to time?" He quieted for a moment, and then added, "I have only my memories of what she looks like, and I'm sure unlike me, she's changed a bit in the last few years."

Ally felt her heart shatter as he rambled through his request. She could hear the sensitivity in his voice when he spoke and she wished that she could somehow convince the girl to come into the maze and just walk around for a bit. It would do everyone good.

"Of course," she muttered. "Mitch, you could've asked me that a while ago."

"I didn't realize how much I needed it," he admitted. "I miss her. So much. Austin doesn't talk about her as much as he used to—you fill that void most days. It's not that I don't like hearing about you, but he was my only line to her, and now… I don't know."

"It's not a problem," she assured him. "Don't worry. I'll try to get one of her best angle."

"Thanks, Ally. I appreciate all you're doing for me. You area sweetheart. I could've only hoped for someone as sweet as you to end up with my brother."

She blushed. "Thank you. Well, I should get going. I'm sure people are starting to show up now, and I don't want to draw anymore attention here than I need to. I'm worried that someone is going to show up one day and see me talking to myself. I'm not sure how I'll explain that one. I'll see you tonight… or well, you'll see me." She chuckled awkwardly. "We'll figure it out soon. I don't care if I'm out here until the end of the year."

"We could put a Christmas tree up near the wall," he suggested.

Ally snorted, looking up at the cloudy sky. "Oh, Mitch."

"Luna would be my star," he murmured. "Literally and figuratively."

Ally headed through the maze after she said goodbye to Mitch, and thought about what she promised. It was a hefty one, she realized. As much as she wanted to help him, and hoped that she could, she knew deep down that nothing was working out for them, and most of what they'd tried so far had failed. There had been a lot of awkward attempts over the last couple of days trying to find a way to see if Ally could see him somehow.

She was so deep in thought she almost missed it, heading through the doors to the main area. Actually, she normally wouldn't have even noticed it was there had she not recognized the knife that it dangled from. Within seconds, her heart plummeted about thirty feet in her chest, and she backed away on instinct. She had no idea if Mitch was around and could see the note, but it didn't look good for her.

 **You're going to regret this.**

 **I _know_. **

**Do you know what this means? You're going to end up just like him. Dead and lifeless. And not only you, Ally. You're going to watch history repeat itself before I slice you from ear to ear. Happy Halloween, hope you know what you're in for.**

A few things hit her at once. The note mentioned her name. This meant that he was directly targeting her now. There was not a single other person who the note could've been meant for, and that only added to her terror. The second part of the note also mentioned Austin, if not by name, by association. But the scariest part of the note was the timing. Whoever wrote it had to know that she was with Mitch. It was something that sent her blood cold because it meant the person probably wasn't far.

She whirled around a few times, as if someone would appear out of the corn.

She shook her head. Austin had her watch Scream a while back… if someone was going to hurt her, her friends, and whoever got in the way, they wouldn't do it when she was alone, would they? They'd want someone to find her. No one would stumble into the corn for a while.

And whoever did this, knew that.

She shuddered, gathering her things, which she'd dropped in shock. She cast one final look in Mitch's direction, ripped down the note and hurried toward the main cast meeting area. She had to show this to Austin and Luna, because she knew the threats would only remain so for a short while. Eventually, this person was going to strike, and she didn't want to be alone anymore. At all. Because as much as she wanted to help, a ghost would not be able to protect her.

"We need to do something," Luna said, her voice hard yet somehow also shaky… something she was not used to.

It only solidified they were completely screwed.

Austin stared at the note as if it would announce its sender.

"Like what?"

"History repeating itself," Ally reminded them. "I know it's a hard subject for you both, but Austin… someone already tried it once. I think that's a given now, seeing this note. If you go into that corn maze tonight, I'm not so sure what we might end up with. I don't want to risk it," Ally demanded. "Not anymore. I don't want to lose you."

He glanced at Luna, who despite her own feelings, nodded. "Austin. I can't lose someone else."

"So what do we do?"

"Attention! Everyone gather around!"

Jim took the front. The chat would have to continue after he was done.

The downpour started about a half hour after Jim was done. The group had decided that they would speak with him, tell him about what they knew. It was just time. But when the rain was coming down, Jim cut the haunt short, asked everyone to come back early tomorrow, and then darted out before they could make their way toward him.

Luna sighed. "Well. I guess… I guess we'll have to talk to him tomorrow."

Austin groaned, "This was not how I pictured Halloween going."

The three of them shared a look, "Well, I guess it means we're okay for one more night. Tomorrow, we talk to him first thing. I don't feel safe at all anymore."

"Me either," Luna admitted. "Even if the note hasn't mentioned me directly."

"Well, let's get our things and get out of here, do you want to meet up with us in a few minutes? Dez is a few feet away. Get your things with him, so you're not alone."

Austin nodded. "Sure. I'm going to run to the bathroom to. Maybe this is for the best."

"Maybe," Ally sighed, thinking about Mitch. He was getting the short end of the stick for sure. "Okay. Five minutes?"

The blond boy nodded. "Yeah."

Luna and Ally headed toward the female's locker area, passing groups of employees who hurried out into the rain to run to their cars. She glanced at them as they ran past, wondering if the person responsible for this was any of them. It seemed surreal to think it could be anyone else other than Ben, though. And oddly, he'd been missing since early in the meeting, darting out right after Jim started his speech.

She was more than suspicious.

"I can't believe this," Luna sighed. "I swear, this nightmare never seems to end. I just want to get on with my life," she explained. "It's so hard to try and move on from the past when it keeps smacking me in the face. The more I think about it, the more I think that maybe what happened to Mitch really wasn't an accident. I can't take that thought. I see his eyes open and lifeless in my nightmares and it freaks me out so bad. I just miss him… so much… I'd do anything for one more night with him. I would do so many things differently. I just…"

Ally was shocked when Luna started to sob before her, sinking to the ground.

"I can't imagine," Ally whispered, unsure how to help her. "I know it must be horrible. I've heard so many stories about him now, it's like I know him myself. I know he must miss you, wherever you are. He'd want you to try and see it in a good light though, you know? Scream on, as you say."

Luna smiled. "Thanks. I'm sorry. I'm just freaked out and worried. I'm not this emotional normally."

"It's okay. It's been a stressful few days. Let's just get Austin and get the hell out of here."

"Sounds good to me."

When they exited the room, they ran straight into Dez and Trish, who were seemingly waiting for someone themselves.

"I thought you said that he'd be with them!" Trish exclaimed, hitting the boy on the arm. "I told you that made no sense… they were in the girls room!"

"Austin loves girls!" he yelled back lamely, giving her a look. "And it was only a suggestion," he defended, giving both of the girls a look. "He's really not with you? He told me he was running to the bathroom and be right back, but that was like ten minutes ago. I thought maybe he was sick, so I went in there, but no one was there."

"What?" Luna shouted. "What do you mean?"

Ally grabbed her arm, carefully trying to make a point. "Maybe he forgot something. Or he went to his car," she suggested.

"Ally, you know—" Luna was seconds away from lecturing her about what they both knew probably was a lot worse than what she just said, but she stopped her before the blonde girl could open her mouth again, pulling her aside for a second, away from the other two.

"I trust Trish, but I don't know Dez. And like you said, we're not really sure it's Ben yet, so who's to say that it isn't Dez and we're leading ourselves right into it? We can't go off and say that yet. Look. Let's just split into two, check over the area. Maybe he really did forget something. It's possible. Austin doesn't think he has to worry because he believes he's able to defend himself. I bet he just went to get something in the main area he left, or in the corn. I know he goes there early sometimes."

"What do you mean?"

"We'll make a run for the corn," Ally added, now speaking loud enough so that the other two could hear. "And you and Dez check the main area." She pulled her aside again. "If he pulls anything, you text me, scream… something. I know it's a bad area, but the corn is not that far. We need to do something. Because if it isn't him… there could be worse things happening right now."

"Ally, this is freaking me out… I can't believe this is happening," she muttered.

"Hey," Ally said. She tried to smile. "Look at that. We'll figure it out. We can't have the horror queen being freaked out. What would a certain boy you loved think about that?"

She blushed, "Who said I loved him?"

She giggled, trying to keep the mood light. "Come on, Luna. You're a great horror girl, but you're not a good liar. Be back in five minutes. Alright."

"Yeah. Okay."

And then they split up, as much as Ally didn't want to. They could cover more ground if they weren't together, and it wasn't like they were alone. Sure, Ally was worried that maybe someone else was hurting them, but that didn't mean it was Dez, either. He'd been a friend of Austin's for many years, but who was to say that he wasn't absolutely nuts all along? Ally's stomach dropped for another time that night. It scared her that person could be possibly so close to her boyfriend.

"Why are we in the rain," she heard Trish shout as they ran into the corn, where the dirt was already becoming mud. She rolled her eyes as she got soaked, not ready to hear her friend complain when Austin could possibly be in danger. Trish didn't get that. She thought he'd show up eventually, in the safety of a dry room. Ally couldn't tell her, not yet.

"We need to look," she defended. "Don't worry, it won't be long."

She didn't get to hear her friend's remark back because as soon as she opened up her mouth, words did not come out… instead, she heard a terrifying scream instead. Ally looked down, to see where Trish had stopped. The nightmare was becoming all too real. At her feet, with their throat slashed, was one of the guys that Luna worked with in the house… she forgot his name, but he was a sweetheart. Luna often spoke about how nice he was, always willing to help out when needed. He wasn't even involved in this… or was he? She reached over, just to make sure, and checked for a pulse. Nothing.

Ally looked around her, into the corn maze. There was a murderer on the loose.

And she was one of his targets.


	10. Chapter 10

**Thank you for the reviews! I'm sorry it didn't get posted on Halloween... sometimes things just don't go as you planned. I had a great time at my haunt though, for those who care. We skipped the lines and got to head in the back way, learn a little bit about the background of the haunt from the employee who was nice enough to offer it to me. I wish I could've asked more about the corn maze, because it is everything to me... but oh well. I had an actor break character and tell me if I wanted to do this next year, I should when he overheard me telling my friend I wish I could do this. He said he loved it, and I would too. Then, he proceeded to chase me to the next section. Jerk! Lol. It was a really good night. He's the last full chapter, and then there is an epilogue! I might have a surprise in that for you guys. :)**

 **Let me know what you think. Enjoy!**

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The rain seemed to worsen as the girls stumbled away from the lifeless body. Trish was shaking and crying, completely unaware of what was actually going on around them. She took this time to fill her in, quickly, and hopefully making sense as well, on what she had missed leaving the part about Mitch out for the moment. It was too much to cover, and they didn't have the time. This was no longer a joke, not even violent threat. Someone had been murdered.

"This is insane," Trish cried. "What do we do? Where is Austin? Do you think whoever did this has him? I'm scared, Ally!"

The irony in her statement should've made her laugh. Two months ago, she would've been shouting that she was terrified to her friend. Okay, so she was terrified. But this was a completely different situation, one that she never could have thought up, never expected. The old Ally would've been on the ground, sobbing. She was forming a plan. It might be a disaster, but it was better than nothing at this point.

"We need to get back to Luna and Dez," she finally decided. "We need to stick together. Figure a way out of this."

"We can't leave Austin behind," Trish said.

"I don't plan on it. But being apart is a bad plan," she added. "Come on."

Just as she was about to grab the girl's hand, a sound resonated from somewhere deeper in the maze. She'd recognize it anywhere now: the sound of chainsaws. Then, there was an ear-splitting scream, which stopped her firmly in place. She recognized the person's voice, but she couldn't place who it was. Her heart hammered as the voice screamed again, slowly turning into a whimper as the chainsaw temporarily silenced.

"We have to help them," Trish murmured.

She was about to agree, "Wait! What if it's a trap?"

"What if it's Austin?" she was asked.

Ally swallowed hard. It was not Austin's scream, she was sure of that. But what if it was someone like Joe, or Dez, or anyone else who she'd gotten to know so well over the last few weeks? Could she live with herself if someone else died in the hands of someone so torturous? A normal person would've called the police, and left the area. Ally was starting to understand the girls in horror movies. Somehow, she couldn't bring herself to do that.

"Come on," she called over the rain. It was so hard to see.

"This is bad," Trish commented. "So bad."

We have no other option, she thought and hurried through the dark maze. She knew her way through it without a second thought. She wondered as they neared their set, if Mitch could see what was going on, or if he'd appear when she got close enough. Ally wondered if Trish would even believe her if she told her the truth. It didn't matter anymore, she knew deep down, because he was real, and this all stemmed from three years ago.

Which was why she was sure Ben was behind it all. He had the means, motive, and the knowledge of the set. Who would've thought someone that Mitch cared for was behind something so terrible?

"Where did the scream come from?"

Ally took a minute to think. It all came back down to Mitch, and that event, so she figured if they headed toward the set, they'd come into contact with whoever it was. So, she hoped. Not that she wanted to deal with a murderer who was out to get her, and her friends, but saving lives was something she needed to do. They ran through the muddy area until they reached the tree. No one was around. Ally swirled in motion, looking for a sign of her haunting friend, or a human who was in distress.

All she saw was blood. Everywhere.

"There is too much of it," Trish commented, her voice low.

"Mitch!" she finally shrieked, on top of her lungs. It was clear whoever was doing this knew she was in contact with him, and probably wasn't far. She needed his help. She needed the guidance of someone she knew she could trust… Mitch was one of the few people right then. "Are you here? Can you hear me? I need you. I need your help. Please, please help me."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Trish yelled. "Isn't he dead? Ally, I know this is scary, but you're freaking me out now."

"Trish, there was more to the story than I told you," she answered, keeping her voice calm. "And I can either figure a way out of this right now, or you can just trust me."

"You're talking ghosts, Ally."

"I know that," she answered again. "Believe me, I didn't want to think what I was experiencing is real, but it is."

"Then where is he?"

Ally glanced around her. There was definite emotion around them. She was right… where was he? Before she could answer that herself, another scream rang out, this time close. It was desperate and terrified, a last attempt at probably saving itself from whatever was about to happen. Ally grabbed her friend's hand and ran toward it. What they came to she never would've expected. Her entire being was in shock to see Ben on the floor of the corn, holding his stomach which was bleeding profusely, begging with a masked individual who was holding a knife.

She recognized the mask from the night she was chased.

"Oh my God," she moaned.

"Ally!" Ben called. "Get out of here!"

"Who is it?" she asked, her voice shaking. "Who is it?"

"I don't know—"

"Ally?" the voice behind the mask spoke. The mask slowly came off, and her heart stopped. There was no way. There was absolutely no way. She felt betrayed, destroyed and alone in the matter of seconds.

Austin stood before her, still holding the knife, and now the mask in his hands. "Austin?" she cried. "How could you?"

"What?" he asked, shaking his head. "Where did he go?"

"What are you talking about? Did Ben attack you?" she realized.

"No, not me!" he said. He looked around frantically, searching for something that she couldn't see. He took the mask and threw it across the maze, as if he understood why she was scared. "Something is wrong. Very wrong." He looked at Ben, studying him with such a severity Ally felt another round of chills creep down her spine. "There is something… off. I don't know who to believe."

"Dude, you stabbed me!" Ben shouted, too weak to do much else. "With that damn mask!"

"I did not! He said you attacked him!"

"Who? I was looking for my name tag. I haven't seen it in days! I thought I'd try to find it before the rain destroyed it!"

"Likely story! You know what? I know! We all know! So give it up! Just admit you killed my brother!"

"What?!" Ben snapped.

"Stop fighting!" Ally added, giving both of them a look. "One at a time."

Before anyone else could say a word, someone came forward with force, grabbing Austin by the side, hitting him hard enough that it knocked him to the ground. Before she could even fathom what was happening, he was dragging him directly through the corn, while he screamed in protest. Masked and in complete costume, the identity remained a mystery to everyone. Ally went to go after him, but found that somehow, she couldn't catch up. In the matter of seconds, she was lost in the interior of the corn, only distantly hearing Austin scream and plead with the masked figure that grabbed him.

Trish's voice resonated in the vicinity, "Ally! Ally! Are you there? Austin?! ALLY?!"

She sniffled, scared and alone, while she tried to stumble her way back to where Trish, and Ben were. She found Trish crying in the rain, trying to help Ben who looked too pale for his body tone. The blood was pooling around him. Maybe the rain made it look worse. Upon close inspection, she noticed how deep the wound on his stomach really was.

"I'm not behind this," he said weakly, looking at her. "I swear. Is that what you thought?"

She didn't want to admit that she did. Now she had no suspects, and a missing boyfriend in danger. And where the hell was Mitch? "It doesn't matter now," she reasoned. "We need to get you out of here, find Austin, and call for help."

"We need to find Luna and Dez," Trish added, trying to figure out a way to staunch the bleeding from Ben's stomach with her jacket. He groaned in pain anytime she placed pressure there. "We also need to move him. It's not safe here."

"We can't move him," Ally murmured, knowing well that if they tried, it would not only exhaust them, but probably make him bleed out faster. The way he was lying, and the pressure on his stomach was his best shot. She looked beyond him. There was a slight break in the corn. If they brought him back far enough, they could probably camouflage him until it was safe. Somehow, as she looked into his pain-riddled eyes, she knew he understood this. He nodded weakly, "Do it, Ally."

"I'm sorry," she told him softly, as she explained to Trish her plan. "I know we're making you a sitting duck."

"Just… do me a favor, okay?"

Ally looked at his drooping eyes—even if they were able to call for help… how long would he survive? "What?"

"If… if I don't make it, tell Luna I loved her," he pleaded. "I should've said more… I need her to know that. I can't be like… like him… I need her to know that I cared for her."

"I will," she promised, squeezing his hand. "Though, I think she knows it already."

He closed his eyes, and leaned against a tree. "Thank you."

"We'll be back for—"

Another scream rang out, and this time, it sent her to the floor.

It was Austin.

"AUSTIN!" she shrieked, and for a second, she panicked. She had no idea where he was, or what to do anymore. People were hurt, people were missing, and she was pretty sure someone was going to die. There was a part of her that wanted to give up in those seconds. Give in to whoever hated them that much and cut her losses. Then she thought about Mitch, about how much he loved his brother, the haunt, and those around him. And she couldn't do it… she had to push forward. With a new determination, she grabbed Trish's hand and ran toward the sound of the screams.

They made it back to the tree set and almost ran into Luna and Dez. She was so relieved to see them that she almost forgot why she ran, until she heard a noise behind her. As if on cue, the lights in that section of the maze lit up, to show Austin on display, kicking and clawing for the tree, tied so that he couldn't move from where he was positioned. The rope was around his neck, but he wasn't quite hanging yet.

Luna shrieked, closing her eyes. She wondered if it was like déjà vu all over for her. The fact that she was in the maze alone testified for whatever was going on. Hearing Austin scream must've brought her in here—her love for the Moons meant more than her own fear.

"We have to help him!" she cried, dissolving into who seemed like a different person. Ally never saw her that afraid before.

"Let's see you try!" A voice cut in, making all of them stop. A figure appeared from behind the set. Another mask was on this person's face, and their body was in some sort of haunt suit. She couldn't make out anything else, as it was raining harder and harder by the second—odd. And where was Mitch? Was he afraid to out himself in front of Austin? She could hear him, he didn't have to do anything else. He would be the only one who could answer questions at this point.

The person, now edging toward Austin came to a stop, still clapping their hands.

"Very good," came the muffled voice, blocking their mouth with their hand. "Very, very good."

"Who are you?"

The voice chuckled, "So naïve, Ally."

She recognized it almost immediately once the person took their hand from their mouth. No one else seemed to, except for Luna. "You son of a bitch! I trusted you."

Austin soon understood too trying to speak from where he was positioned, "You tricked me! You were going to have me kill him!"

"One less person in the way," the voice continued. "You'll be gone, soon too. But I can't have every death on my hands. The cops will be pretty leery of my story if it seems I killed everyone. I plan on having you kill Ally, and those other two kids before I take your life." He pointed toward Dez's direction, "Then figure somehow Ben got to you. And then… there's Austin. I mean, I'm going to make yours look like a mistake, too. Seems fitting, doesn't it?"

"I can't believe you," Austin sneered. "I cannot understand why you would do this to me—to my family."

"You moron," he laughed. "It's not about you—well not directly. It's never been about you. It's about her."

"Who?"

He chuckled, " _Luna_."

The voice took off the mask, revealing themselves. He smiled directly at her. "Sweetheart, it's always been about _you_."

Joe did not look anything like she remembered him, Ally thought. He seemed like a completely different person in the rain, smiling like that.

Luna choked back a sob. "You son of a bitch. Rot in hell. You did this! You killed Mitch! It wasn't an accident!"

"Of course it wasn't." He snorted. "You know how easy it was to do once he showed me the trick? God, so fucking dumb. He practically signed his own death."

Austin paled.

Luna did too.

"You killed him… for what?"

"For you," he said, tilting his head as it made sense. "He didn't deserve you."

"What?!" she shrieked. "Oh my God."

"You don't understand, do you?" he reasoned calmly. His entire body seemed to relax, and he leaned against the tree—still blocking it from them getting to Austin. "He didn't deserve you—he didn't know as much as I did. But you were always after him—even though he never seemed to give a damn! He never asked you out… never did anything! He didn't deserve you."

"So, you killed him?" she asked again, her voice horrified.

""It got your attention, didn't it?" he asked, looking proud. "I mean, for the first time, you weren't running to him anymore! It wasn't about Mitch. It was about ME! I was the one you were coming to, crying on the shoulder of. We were finally happy, together! I was the only one you were happy with—remember that? Those few weeks where it was just you and me? Then he came back. You were all over Ben like he was something, too. I figured it would stop, you'd get bored. We all drifted because of the haunt being over—and then Ben didn't come back! Everything was great. Don't you remember? Don't you remember the _good times_ , Luna?"

Luna just stood there stiff. She looked like she might throw up. She finally just closed her eyes, covering her mouth with her hand, "You _killed_ him for me…"

"Why is that so hard to comprehend?" he asked, his voice rising just a little. "I'd do anything for you, Luna. I'm going to _marry you_!"

"And the rest of it?" Ally asked. "Why now? Why are you doing this?"

"Ben's back," he said simply. "And then there was this shit." He pointed to the set, glaring behind him at it. "You know we haven't used this set in the last couple of years. Instead of people being here, we put a few sound recorders and just let the kids run past it. Then, this one," he snapped, glaring up at Austin, "Decided that he had to come work here, bring it back. Thought he was something else. Fucking Moons are always in the way." He shrugged, shaking his head. "I wasn't going to worry too much about it, to be honest. I would find a way to get rid of Ben… it would be easy. Then, one day I walked into the corn maze before work, and I saw you talking to someone. They sat down right next to you, and they were smiling—happy! You got too close—you were going to expose me eventually! I had to protect myself. How would I get Luna if people kept getting in my way?"

"Ally, what is he talking about? Who were you talking to?"

"I'm so sorry, Luna," she whispered. "I should've told you. I should've told Austin…"

Ally bit down on her lip. Joe could see Mitch? Why couldn't she? A part of her wondered if he was attached to him somehow because he murdered him.

"You had to make it difficult! All of you. So, here we are."

He pulled on the rope beyond him, releasing it so that Austin would hang. It swung wildly, and Ally just said a prayer that it didn't immediately snap his neck. Instead, he held onto the ropes and she felt an odd sense of déjà vu from a few weeks previous watching him suffer in front of her. Joe blocked the way, and despite Dez's attempt to rush forward in those seconds and try to stop him, it only ended with him getting hit onto the floor. The girls just stood there. Joe was at least a foot taller than them and at least 100 pounds heavier.

They couldn't do a thing.

Ally's eyes welled. She was going to watch her boyfriend die. Luna was going to watch someone else she cared about die the same way the love of her life did.

Until, something unbelievable happened.

She didn't see it at first—she was too focused on Austin and his choking sounds to see what formed behind Joe. Luna did and Ally watched as she went through a range of emotions, from shock, to fear, to awe, and just a mix of the three. She covered her hand with her mouth, biting back another sob. Joe seemed confused, but he couldn't see him.

Beyond him, a haze had formed. It just seemed like a light at first, but then it took shape.

He always did say emotions were a power charge for him.

It grew colder by the second, the rain pouring down on them.

He looked right past Ally to the girl next to her, and gave her a smile. It seemed in those few seconds, all was right with the world.

Luna and Mitch were staring at each other.

Then, he tilted his head, gaping at his brother, who because of the angle could not see him, and glared daggers at the back of Joe's head. He came forward, with more force than anything she'd ever seen or felt before, and tackled Joe to the ground. He was solid, like a real person and not some sort of other kind of being, his hands closing around the large man's neck. He did not seem like the happy-go-lucky voice she'd gotten to know in the next few seconds when she heard him whisper, "How does it feel to lose the ability to breathe, Joe? To feel the world slipping from your grasp with nothing you can do to stop it." He smiled, twisted and creepy. "What, you look like you've seen a ghost?"

Joe sputtered, unable to breathe.

She felt a sick sense of happiness from that. Then, she remembered Austin and ran past the two of them, as they struggled and went to the rope. She couldn't figure out how to release it, it was stuck in some sort of tight not that she couldn't break.

"I can't get him down!"

This broke the look and focus that Mitch had on the man below him. He called to the girls, still not calling the one he loved by name, demanding that they hold him down. With the power of two, they did, and she watched in shock as Mitch easily climbed the tree and began to work on something she couldn't exactly see. In seconds, he was slowly lowering him to the ground.

In the chaos, she hadn't realized Austin had stopped moving until she came around the corner and saw him lifelessly lying on the ground. A sob quickly escaped her throat, and she looked wildly at Mitch who looked horrified at the sight.

"We're not letting this happen," she said, her voice level and severely serious. "Not again. Never again."

She ran over to him, flipping him over to see him still not breathing. She felt for a pulse, feeling nothing. Ally wanted to panic, retreat to what she once was, but then she saw Mitch. She finally saw him in those moments, the person that not only loved haunts, horror, and the beautiful blonde a few feet away, but the boy who loved his brother tirelessly and endlessly. If it wasn't enough before to try to fight to save his life, she felt an even bigger pull to know this could not be the end. Not now.

History would not repeat itself.

She didn't know CPR. She had no idea how it really worked—she only saw it on TV.

She did it anyway. She prayed it was right, prayed it would be enough.

Luna was on the phone with the police while she attempted to restrain Joe. She worked for nearly five minutes before she felt something give back when she put her lips on his. A tickle of a breath, if only for a second. So, she did it again. And again, until she saw his chest rising up and down, slowly and then a bit more strong.

Ally relaxed, leaning against the tree.

A sound came beyond the corn and Ben stumbled forward. Ally, too tired and shocked to deal with much else did not move when he demanded the girls get off of Joe and plunged a knife into his stomach, not once, not twice, but more times than she could count, before collapsing next to him in a heap. Joe did not move. He never made a sound.

His eyes remained open until she heard a voice beside her, "Is he dead?"

"I think so," she said automatically, then realized who spoke. "Austin!"

He tried to sit up, but she forced him back down. "It's okay. It's okay. Don't move."

As if Ben's sudden attack woke her up too, Luna ran over to Austin, putting his head onto her lap. Only then did she seem to remember something else. She looked around her, at the boy who was near the tree. Both of them stared at him in shock, Austin literally trembling beneath them at the sight. It didn't seem real.

"I must've hit my head," Luna mumbled.

Mitch smiled, "Ally said that too the first time I spoke to her."

She closed her eyes, "Is it really you?"

"It's really me," he whispered, coming toward them. "Sorry it had to be like this."

"I can't believe it," she whispered. She gently took her hands off Austin's head, trying to touch him. Mitch froze, unsure how it would work, and Ally too was shocked when she was able to gently caress his face. "I miss you so much." Ally felt as if she was interrupting something private. The girl before her broke down another time, something she never would've thought she'd see. "You were everything to me," she whispered. "I should've told you. I shouldn't have made you think I wasn't that into you. I should've done something. I should've told you."

"Shh," he whispered. "It's okay. I know. Believe me, I know. I'm at fault too."

There was a silence.

"I love you, Luna," he added. "I've loved you from the day I met you."

"I love you, too."

He glanced down at Austin, who was hazily looking at him, too. His voice was weak when he said, "All I wanted to do was do your life justice."

"Baby bro, you did all that and more," he whispered back. "I'm so proud of you."

He smiled and closed his eyes, falling unconscious. Ally stared worriedly, but was brought back to the love affair in front of her. It was like she couldn't look away.

"I know." He stood up, looking at all of them. "You're going to be okay."

She didn't know who he was speaking to, if anyone directly.

He continued to smile, seemingly the most at peace he'd been probably in a long time. He might not have remembered it, but his murder was what kept him there. With the murderer out in the open, and dead now too, he had nothing but lightness left around him.

"We figured it out after all," he grinned, nodding at Ally. "You and me make a good team. I would've been honored to be in a set with you. You are the kind of person that everyone needs in their life. A light in a dark world."

She smiled sadly at him. She realized what this meant. "I'm thankful for all you've taught me."

"And me, too." He glanced around again. Ally noticed he was starting to not show as well, similar to how he looked the first night she saw him. Before she could say anything else, Luna ran up to him, grabbing him by the shoulders. In a second's time, she had pressed her lips to his and his arms were around her. It glowed in the haunted maze for a few seconds, the scare zone filled with something a little more bright.

"I always wanted you to do that," he murmured, as they broke apart.

"I just hope it was worth the wait," she joked sadly.

"I'd make a lame joke like I used to, but I feel like my humor's kind of dead," he grinned.

Luna choked back a laugh or a sob… Ally wasn't sure which. Maybe both. "I love you," she said again. "I always will."

"Here's to hoping the real afterlife is everything we always said it would be," he murmured. "And if I'm in hell, that there is at least TV."

She snorted. "Asshole."

" _You love me_."

The girl froze, clearly brought back a few years in those seconds.

 _Mitch just shrugged, eyes gleaming with trickery. It was what he lived for, after all._

 _He came up beside her and bravely pressed a kiss on her cheek. "You love me."_

 _She turned around, giving him a weak smile. "Unfortunately."_

Sirens sounded in the distance, alerting them it was all over. In those few seconds, no one said a word, not a single sound seemed to be heard. Then, she watched as he flickered like a candle, time seemingly running out. He didn't look distraught by it, and just stood back from the group.

Luna was the one to break the silence, alerting him, and everyone around her that everything would be okay with just one word, "Always


	11. Chapter 11

**I suck. Apologizes for the wait. Love to you all. Never stop screaming. ;D**

* * *

 **Epilogue:** Moving On

Ally following the rain-filled, horror-soaked night did not remember the moments after the police showed up. Details were fuzzy, partly because the group could not tell the whole truth, and partly because it almost did not seem real. She knew over the last few months that Mitch was a part of her, a very real part and that she'd helped him in ways that no one else ever could have. Would she ever find out why they seemed to be linked? Probably not. She assumed now that he had peace and closure, he would rest comfortably whatever that may be.

Besides, with all that was still happening around her, it was hard to focus on that for long anyway. Joe was dead. That much she knew, after watching the police take his body out in a body bag. She held onto Trish as they took him away, the rain now a drizzle, and the moon bright in the sky somehow as well. Luna was torn between her former lover's brother and her new love interest, and that snapped Ally back into the present. Ally rushed over to the ambulance.

"I'll ride with Austin if you want to go with Ben," she told the shivering girl.

Luna looked relieved. "Thank you. Thank you, Ally."

It was a blur again after that. The ambulance ride only made her feel more lost, watching Austin hooked up to machines and such as he'd slipped unconscious again following Mitch's departure. They fed him oxygen and Ally held his hand.

At the hospital, she was reunited with Trish, Dez, and Luna while they waited for news. At some point, the doctors came in and said that Austin would be okay, and he'd need to rest for a while, but there would be no lasting effects from the encounter. She silently thanked Mitch for that. Hopefully he'd be their guardian angel from then on. But Ben was another story. Ben had been stabbed so deeply in his stomach that some of his organs had been affected. There was a lot of internal bleeding, and the doctors had to get it stopped before he bled out. Ally and Dez were both matching blood donors, so they gave as much as they'd allow.

She woke up sometime later against Dez, finding that Trish had fallen asleep against Luna, who stared at the double doors with blurry, red-coated eyes. It looked like she hadn't moved since Ally had passed out. Glancing at her phone, she noticed it had been two hours.

"Luna?" she asked hoarsely.

"Yes?" she replied, never looking away from the doors.

"Nothing?"

Luna's chest rose and fell quickly. She saw the frozen posture shatter for only seconds, then return. Her focus increased. "Not yet."

 _Two Days Later_

Austin would not see anyone following his release from the hospital. He allowed his parents to pick him up, and he wouldn't answer even Luna's calls. Ally was hurt, but understood. Following the attack, the haunt had been shut down pending a full investigation. There would be numerous holes in the story because of Mitch's involvement, but no one would be willing to admit the truth. Ally had been following Luna to the hospital almost every day, who had religiously been visiting the ICU following Ben's successful surgery that night. He was no where near out of the woods, but she wouldn't give up hope. No monster would get away with this, she swore.

Ally often went and snuck it when the nice nurse was on duty. They sat in his room and told stories about the haunt. Good stories. Luna spoke a lot about Mitch, which surprised her. She thought following his death and what now surrounded it, the memories would still be too painful. Instead, she explained when asked, that she finally found what she needed and that somehow, it all felt okay.

It was Ben's turn to show them he would be too.

He lost a lot of blood, and he'd also been without oxygen for nearly five minutes. He had flat lined twice during surgery, and since then had been placed in a coma so that his body could attempt to heal itself. He had a severely lacerated spleen, part of his kidney removed, and punctured a hole in a part of his intestines, forcing a piece of that to be removed too. When he woke up, he would find severe scars, both physically and mentally.

Ally finally forced Luna away one afternoon after staring at him for nearly an hour.

Shockingly, they ended up at the haunt. Parking down the road, out of sight, the two girls snuck past the police lines and walked down the dirt road to the place they'd called home for the last two months. Ally stared at the front of the corn maze, chills sweeping her spine. She had been suffering too the last few nights with nightmares, trying to force away Joe from her mind. She'd trusted him, blindly almost, without knowing how terrible he really was. A blind obsession with a beautiful girl that Ally cherished almost cost more people their lives.

But this was too real. This haunt was their livelihood, something Ally never thought she'd say. It used to terrify her for a different reason, but now it just brought sadness.

"I wouldn't go in here," Luna stated suddenly, staring up at the sign she'd found out that Mitch had repainted several years back. "I couldn't. Losing Mitch rocked me from inside out and I had never felt such loss in my life. He was my everything and I never got closure. A part of me feels like what happened the other night was all in my head and that this is it's sick way of giving myself some sort of answer."

Ally swallowed hard, "I can assure you, it happened."

She chuckled darkly, "How fucked are we? I love horror and haunts, and all of this shit, but a part of me never believed it could be real. I never saw myself running into a ghost someday, especially not the ghost of the one guy I loved with all my heart. It seems like I've officially lost it."

"You love it so much though," she pointed out. "You just said it. Why does it seem so irrational to you that there are parts of this world that aren't just fantasy? If anyone could come back and play ghost, why not him? I'm telling you, Luna… I thought I was crazy at first too, but I believe. I absolutely believe in all that happened the other night, and all that came before it."

"Tell me about the last few weeks?" she pleaded. "Did he talk about me? What did you talk about?"

Ally smiled warmly at her, "He raved about you constantly. You and Austin were his entire world. He talked about how much he regretted never telling you the truth, and how much he missed you. He wished for a chance to see you one last time, but swore you'd never come in, so he'd never have that chance. I promised him I'd get him a picture to put in the tree."

She choked back a sob. "I was so close to him all along and I had no idea."

"I don't think you would've seen him, or heard him. He said he'd tried when you were close. Austin too. I don't know why I could. I guess it was just fate. He needed a voice, and I gave it to him. We together as a team gave him the closure he deserved."

"I still miss him every day," she whispered. She glanced at the maze, stepping forward. "There was such a whirlwind surrounding the other night that I really didn't get to experience that set again. I need to go in there. I know he's not there anymore, but I still feel close to him there." She glanced at Ally. "You can wait here if you want to. Or you can come. I don't mind."

Ally chose to follow. There were a lot of pleasant memories attached to the corn maze as well, ones she hoped she could remember instead of how it all ended. They walked slowly through the dusty area, some of the ground still wet from the rain a few days before. They reached the set, again surrounded with police tape. Luna effortlessly climbed over it, going right to the tree where she first saw Mitch following his death, and again a few nights ago. She rubbed her fingers over the carving she'd learned of, with their initials attached. A smile graced her stunning features and she closed her eyes, mouthing something. She opened them to look to the sky and Ally felt as if she was interrupting a private moment.

"I hate to say it, but I'm so jealous of all the time you got to spend with him," Luna sighed. "I hope he knew just how much I wished for that kind of thing."

"He did and more. He loved watching Austin come here. He got to watch him grow up in a way that others couldn't."

"Have you heard from Austin?"

Ally shook her head. "No, he won't answer my calls or texts. I didn't want to just show up at his house. It seemed wrong. He had no idea either. I'm sorry I didn't tell you guys, but I didn't think anyone would believe me, and Mitch begged me to stay quiet."

"I'm not mad at you," she swore. "Just wish I could've had a little more time." Before she could finish her thoughts, her phone rang. It was the hospital. She hung up and grinned ear to ear, "They're going to pull Ben out of the coma. They're confident that he's strong enough. We have to go."

Ally grinned back at her, "Great news!" Luna stared at the tree one last time, before reaching into her pocket. She took a key from her set and carved a final piece into the large, old tree. Ally didn't want to see what it said, knowing it was just for them.

The two girls stopped at the edge of the set. The future of the haunt looked dim, but at least it could go out with some sort of hope attached. There would never be a worry for anyone now, knowing that Mitch was at peace, and that his family and friends had closure. Still, staring at the set, one of many beautifully crafted, hand done pieces of haunt art, it seemed unfair that they'd never be able to bring it to life again. Surely, between the police investigation and the news stories, people would never allow it to remain. She gave it a final goodbye and with Luna's hand in hers, they left behind a piece of their lives, ready to start a new one.

Ally let Luna go to the hospital alone. Ben didn't have any family around the area, and no one close who could be there, so she was it. She didn't want to intrude on a private reunion. Besides, as they drove back to Ally's house, she knew that she couldn't let Austin continue his path of whatever he was doing. She knew how dangerous that could be.

So, she showed up at his house, against the thought that it was a bad idea.

It seemed like a worse idea when his mother answered and she scowled at her. "You were a part of this," she spat.

"Yes," Ally replied calmly. "I was a part of something your sons loved and I refuse to let you think that it was all in vain, and that all of it was horrible. Your anger and hatred is directed at the wrong people here, with all respect given, Mrs. Moon. Is Austin home?"

"He's resting," she replied with venom.

Ally struggled with a response. "I know you don't really know me, or probably like me, but I care deeply for your son. He showed me so much in the last few months. His light and passion are deep inside of him and he means so much to me. I have been worried sick these last few days, and I know what secluding yourself from others can do. I mean absolutely no harm and I understand if you close your door." She paused. "Please at least let me try to talk to him."

The woman remained hardened for a moment, then slowly curved her body so she could step inside. "Do you know where his room is?"

"Yes," she replied with burnt cheeks, remembering the night she found them in his room. "Thank you."

She bounded up the stairs, seeing happy pictures of Austin along the way. When she got to his room and saw the door closed, she hesitated. What if he wouldn't talk to her? She got over her fear as fast as she could trick herself, and knocked. Without a response, the fear started to creep in, but Mitch came to mind. She saw him in her head and knew that she couldn't give up that easily. She knocked a second time, and then entered without second thought.

Austin was on his bed, staring at something in his hands. He looked up when she entered, but didn't say a word. The angry bruise on his neck glared back at her and she swallowed hard so that she didn't give up a second time. His eyes were small against his sunken in eyes, and his skin pale. She assumed he hadn't slept in days.

"Hey," she said quietly. "I hope you aren't angry with me for coming. You've got everyone worried. Me especially."

She took a careful step toward him. His eyes haunted her as they studied her back. She just wished he'd snap out of whatever he was going through and be the Austin she knew and loved. It would be too easy.

She stopped before the bed seeing him holding the picture of Mitch and him from years previous she'd seen the first night she'd been there. He clutched it tighter as if he knew she was staring at it.

"Have you spoken to anyone since that night? Your parents? A police officer? Maybe a stuffed animal?" she joked lamely.

He didn't budge.

"You and I both know that whatever is in your head is not meant to stay there. It's a dangerous thing to do, Austin. I can't make you do anything, but I am begging you not to shut me or Luna, or anyone out. I can't say I understand what you're going through, but I promise I will not judge or comment on anything you are feeling. You don't have to talk about it if you're not ready, but please let us help you somehow."

He swallowed, signaling that he heard her somehow. She sighed.

"Mitch would not want this," she snapped.

He glared at her, "How the hell would you know what Mitch wanted? You didn't know him! You don't know him."

"That's where you're wrong," she yelled back. "You have no idea just what I've been going through this last month or so. You might've seen your brother for the first time last night, but I saw him the night we first kissed! I've been dealing with his ghost and this story for over a month! He wouldn't let me tell anyone; do you know how hard that was to do? I had no one to turn to. I thought I was going crazy! Before you tell me that I am, listen to me! He told me about your first movie experience. How you peed your pants. He told me summer vacation stories, how you two would sneak out onto your roof when it was summer and spend hours talking about what you were going to do with your lives. I may not know him like you do, but I sure as hell know about your relationship with each other, and how much love is there! Do not let the other night be in vain!" She yelled, slowing down when she saw the recognition finally hit him. "Your brother loved you, will always love you, and I do too!"

She froze.

Austin did too.

"Do you mean that?"

She swallowed hard. Her eyes closed, realizing the severity of what she just admitted. It seemed impossible to love somewhat you only knew for a few months, but through Mitch and their experiences, she'd grown to really know him in a way that others might not.

Perhaps it was why she did not sleep the last few nights, why she spent hours staring at her phone in hopes he'd tell her he was doing okay. How would anyone be willing to move on quickly following what happened? She didn't expect that.

"I do," she finally answered. "I really do love you."

He stared at her with broken eyes. "Then please explain to me this hollowing feeling in my heart. It's eating me up inside."

Ally rushed forward in those moments, hoping somehow, she could at least give him some sort of comfort.

 _Two weeks later_

"I don't understand you people," Dez commented. "You do realize you survived a real life horror movie and your way of coping is watching more horror movies that involve this shit."

Luna grinned from the couch, where she had Ben lying on her, running her hands through his hair. He was tenderly holding onto her loose arm, smiling lovingly up at the blonde bombshell. He was still very sore, and very limited in movement, but he was home—or at least, in Luna's home. Someone needed to help him after all, and what better person to do it than the one who clearly cared the most? After going to the hospital that night and seeing him awake for the first time, Luna had confessed to him that she wanted to give them a chance. She didn't know how it would work, but Ally was told that they were going to try it out.

Dez and Trish were also going strong. They were still an odd couple to Ally, but they worked somehow too.

And then there was her and Austin. He was seated next to her on the couch, their lower bodies tangled comfortably together. He had started therapy earlier in the week, talking to someone about everything that had happened in the week's previous and even years previous. They didn't speak about the supernatural side of things, even if they all believed what happened that night was real. The police had closed the investigation with their stories regardless, the plot holes seemingly irrelevant to them. After all, Joe was dead, and everyone was healing.

They were far from being okay. Ally was still having nightmares, which she was talking to Luna about almost every day. In turn, Luna shared hers too. Austin would continue his therapy and was working on mending his relationship with his parents, who were trying to see his side of the story. The supernatural part of their world seemed to be at ease, as Ally had not seen or heard from Mitch since the night in the haunt.

The haunt was sadly being shut down. They could not allow it to continue following such a horrific event. It only made sense to honor those who had lost their lives that night by giving them that respect. In turn, they would build a garden there, but only with the terms that the one set would remain and it would be the group's own little project. Mitch would be furious if his tree and set were torn down for some damn rose bush, Austin stated.

And it worked.

The nightmare was over, and healing had begun. Together, they could make it through whatever.


End file.
